Selkie
by MiBo
Summary: A child adopts her foster mother's Ataxophobia, it affects her home, classes, and eventually the work place but there is someone watching out for her. They meet for his final year in high school before they disappear from one another's lives only to be reunited by becoming work colleagues. A set of siblings are out to help them realize their feelings for one another by any means.
1. Freckles

**Disclaimer:** I do not own _Free! Iwatobi Swim Club_ they belong to Koji Oji or any of the characters portrayed in it, I simply own the character named Kiana Hagano, some others thrown in, and that is all. This was inspired by a a spur of the moment idea (don't judge me XD ) so I hope you all enjoy it as much as I do writing it.

 **Chapter 1** \- Freckles

A feminine figure was hunched over on the grassy knoll, mist began to recede as the sun rose, and the figure gripped the dirt with both hands. Pain erupted along her backside, traveled into her left shoulder, then down through her arm to the tips of her fingers, and she dug into the dirt even more. Hissing reached her ears, one eye focused on the left of her face, there was the flexible iron hot metal, dangling from that gloved hand, and it inched closer to her. The metal was formed to mimic the scales of a snake, she had already been branded by it, skin seared to have the scars look just like scales so everyone would know who she belonged to. Long curly red hair was yanked to force her head up, blue eyes stared into those pale green ones of her captor, she took in ragged breaths to steady her breathing, the metal was then pressed against her cheek to her neck so that it connected the burns on her shoulder. Eyes squinted shut in pain as she screamed out, the metal was taken from her face and neck, she slumped to the ground once more, gripping the dirt, desperately trying to will it all away. Soon the sound of something sharp was heard, her hair was pulled up, and she felt it being cut, tresses of her long beautiful hair were tossed on the ground in front of her followed by cackling. There was a sound, the female before her growled, threw down the metal, and tried to run but she was tackled to the ground by something. Blue eyes glanced up to see a set of soft brown ones that belonged to a man she had only seen in photographs, his voice was soft, and he whispered to her.

"I'm so sorry we couldn't get here sooner. If we had known...I'll make it up to you. I'll take you away from here." With that the young girl passed out from pain, the last thing that she remembered seeing was a smile on the man's face.

Abruptly the woman sat up, she could feel bandages covering her left side, back, and face; she touched her hair, it was short now, very short, just coming to her jaw but since it was curly; it fluffed out. The woman sighed, looked around to see all sorts of drips connected to her, she gulped, feeling anxiety grip her heart until the door opened, and that man from before appeared. He sat down on one side, "Hello little one." She stared at him warily, he may have saved her life but she wasn't sure she could trust him, "I'm sorry about what happened." Continued to stare at him, "What's your name?"

She coughed, he handed her some water, she drank it very slowly before handing the glass back, "Kiana Hagano." The man blinked, "My father was Japanese and my mother Irish."

"Do you know the woman who was torturing you?"

"My mother sold me to her when I was small when the woman came to villages in Ireland looking for new girls. She brought me here to Japan and worked me in that place for years as a kitchen girl until she tried..."

"Take your time."

Kiana took a breath, "Until she tried to make turn me into one of her girls, I refused, and she saw fit to brand me so others would know who I belonged to and what I had done."

"How old are you?"

"I'm ten."

The man clenched his teeth, tried to refrain from being openly vulgar in front of the child so he asked, "Snake scales?"

"Madame Snake was her name. You know this."

"I know, I just need to clarify with you." There was silence, "Do you know who I am?"

"I've seen your picture on the internet and on her wall of people to look out for. You're a police officer."

He nodded, "That's pretty close. I'm Akira Yamamoto, Head Investigator of Interpol for Sex Slaves and Madame Snake was at the top of our list. Where's your father?"

"Passed away when I was small, shortly after that I was sold to her."

"I see. I'm sorry to hear that." She shrugged, "You're a tough one aren't you?"

She looked at him, smiled gently, and he was taken aback by how warm the expression was even though she was covered in white bandages. "I remember only one thing from my father. He always called me Selkie, as a nickname because they're strong."

Akira returned that smile, "I see. Well you have two choices now, you can stay here in Japan or you can go to Ireland." She shook her head and explained that Ireland is where her mother was, "Then you'd be considered an orphan here since you don't know any family." She shrugged, "You're willing to be an orphan?" She nodded, he rubbed the back of his neck, "Well you're still young. I suppose it could work out with some family." Kiana shrugged, "Alright, once you're healed we'll send you to an orphanage." She thanked him quietly, he patted her head, "Although you'll have those scars for life and they'll never get disappear because they _are_ burns and your skin has been damaged." She shrugged again, "Okay tough girl. I'll be in to check up on you every so often." Once more she thanked him, he nodded, and left the room. Akira sighed, ran a hand through his hair, and decided on the best course of action for her. "Could I really do it? What would Aoi think?"

Days passed as she was able to heal, the patch on her face came off first, she was given a mirror to look at herself, she ran a finger across the skin, it was slightly textured, and Kiana sighed. The nurse that was tending her said that she could pretend she was a dragon. The Irish girl gave a small smile, the nurse patted her head, looked at the door, and reached into her pocket. A candy bar was handed to her, the nurse put a finger to her own lips to show silence, Kiana giggled, and she left the room; being sure to close the door behind her.

The wrapper was open, she took a bite, and smiled at the nougat, caramel, and peanuts so she looked at the wrapper; Snickers. Kiana finished her candy bar when a knock was heard, Akira peeked in, he entered, he watched her hide the wrapper, and he grinned. He took it, tossed it in the trash, and whispered, "That's my favorite one too." Kiana giggled, "So this was my last case and I'm retiring from Interpol but there will still be a job for me just not in this city." She tilted her head, "I'll be the new Chief at Iwatobi Police Station." Kiana nodded, "And you're coming with me." Blue eyes snapped onto those brown ones, "I spoke with my wife, told her what happened to you, and she decided that instead of placing you in an orphanage that we take you in." She blinked many times as if to try and understand what she was hearing, "I'm adopting you."

"Why?"

"Because my wife is very adamant about this. She kept scolding me, telling me it wasn't right to let you go to an orphanage after all that has happened to you, so we came to an impasse...and she won." Kiana giggled again, "Well, once you're given a clean bill of health, you'll come with me. I'll be sure to visit you as often as I can while I take care of the rest of my duties." She nodded, he patted her head, and left the room but not before he tossed a Snickers bar on the sheets next to her right hand.

A couple more days passed, her burns were significantly better except the one on her back, it was the most intense so she still had to stay in the hospital but she didn't like it. Kiana fidgeted on the bed because the bandage itched, there was a quiet knock on the door, and she looked at it. A woman poked her head inside, she had black hair that cut across her jaw, and golden eyes. "May I come in?" her voice was soft, she nodded, and the woman entered; she wore a blouse with a pencil skirt. She took a seat near the bed, "Hello, how are you?" She shrugged, "You really are as strong as Akira said you are." Kiana paused to look at her, "I'm Aoi Yamamoto, Akira's wife."

"Did he like you because your name starts with an 'A' too?"

Aoi blinked and laughed, "You're a naturally funny one aren't you?" She shrugged again, "I'm glad to meet you, my husband doesn't know I'm here because he thinks I'm at home packing our necessities." She winked at her and Kiana continued to watch her, "He kept telling me that you wouldn't want to see me but I always win when it comes to arguments like that."

"Why adopt me?"

"Because I'm sterile, I can't have children but I wanted them, and we talked about adoption before but we could never come to an agreement so he always told me to wait until he could retire. When he told me about you, I knew you were the one that I was waiting for."

"But why me?"

Aoi leaned forward and whispered, "Because you're a Selkie and Selkie's need to be protected as they're special." Kiana stared at her then she smiled which lit up her eyes, "That's a very pretty smile and also I have ataxophobia." She tilted her head in confusion, "It just means that I have a fear of disorder and untidiness so our home is kept _very_ clean and tidy." The Irish girl nodded, "Good! Once you're dismissed I'll be here to pick you up since you're going to need clothes and I don't trust Akira to get them for you plus it's just plain weird." She giggled, Aoi patted her head, "I don't care what anyone says, you're beautiful and those scars are not bothersome to me so you need to find friends who aren't bothered by it as well." Kiana nodded, "Very good! Get some rest, I've also been told that you like Snickers bars, they're my favorite too." A bar was handed to her, Kiana took it with her left hand, thanked her quietly, and Aoi said, "And that's why she burned your left arm." Curly red hair bobbed in a nod, "I love your poodle hair." Kiana giggled again, Aoi waved to her, and left the room while the Snickers bar was opened so she could eat it.

Seven more days passed before the Irish girl was discharged from the hospital, Aoi was there to pick her up as promised, and took her to their small apartment so she could finish packing. Once it was all loaded up, they left it up to the movers to load everything into the truck, Akira was waiting with the car, and sighed. "It's going to be a long trip." Aoi shrugged and Kiana stated that as long as they had Snickers bars then it would be fine. Akira's wife laughed, he smiled down at the Irish girl they had adopted, and opened the car doors for them.

The road trip was long but she slept through most of it, Aoi smiled as she snoozed in the back seat, she patted her husband's shoulder, and he grinned at her. "You really like her Aoi."

"I do."

"Good. She's been through a lot but takes it all in stride with a smile and a determined heart. Reminds me of someone I know."

"Shut up Akira!"

He grinned as his wife blushed, "Maybe the movers will have all of our stuff put away by the time we get there so you and I can have some fun."

"She's sleeping back there!"

"She was raised in a brothel, I'm sure she knows what goes on."

"That's not the point!" Akira chuckled again as Aoi fumed in the passenger seat but said quietly, "I suppose we could have some fun before you start your new position and mine." He smiled at his loving wife, "Kiana is just the little girl I wanted. So adorable and I love her poodle hair but, most of all, I adore those freckles."

"Yeah, me too."

When they arrived at Iwatobi, Akira dropped them straight at the mall for clothes while he told them that he might be late coming home from his new job. Both of them told him to take his time and not stress, he patted Kiana's head, kissed his wife, and headed out to the station. Meanwhile the woman asked what she liked to wear and she only shrugged so Aoi decided to let her try on all sorts until she found something that she was comfortable with. Turns out Kiana really liked wearing leggings with mini dresses as well as long skirts with blouses, so the adult female started pairing all sorts of leggings with dresses and blouses with skirts until Kiana openly laughed instead of giggling.

"There we go! That's what I wanted to hear! So, which ones do you like most?" Kiana picked out two pairs of black leggings and a variety of dresses, skirts, and blouses but she couldn't remember which ones she had picked since Aoi decided to get all the ones that Kiana liked. Aoi held the bag in her hand, they walked through the mall to the cellular phone store, "You need a phone to contact us so I'm going to get you one and add you to our plan." Kiana only nodded, they walked side-by-side but neither one minded, once inside, she told Kiana to pick a phone but she didn't know anything so Aoi took the lead. Found one just like hers, bought it, and set it up with all of their phone numbers. "There, almost done! You need a purse now!"

"Have you heard of a field bag?"

Aoi gaped, "Yes! I love those! Let's get some!" Kiana giggled, they headed into a store and searched for some, they were spotted, and Aoi squealed like a child. "Oh there they are! Let's go have a look!" Kiana rolled her eyes at the older woman's mannerisms, they headed to the section, and began to try them on until they each found one that they liked. "Say Selkie, you like to swim?"

"I don't know how."

"Well let's get a swim suit anyway, preferably one that will match your cute little freckles across your nose!"

"You noticed?"

"Of course I did and they're absolutely adorable! I love them, not to mention that they're all over your body, I'm just glad that they didn't get burned off." Kiana giggled again, "Come on! Swim suit time! Then we can go look at some decorations for your bedroom!"

"It's too much."

"Nonsense, you're my little girl now. I'm going to spoil you rotten."

"Why?"

Aoi's golden eyes glinted while she whispered, "Because I can." The Irish girl giggled and they headed off after getting their field bags, towards the swim swear store. Akira's wife made sure to buy a new beach bag, complete with towels, goggles, swim caps, bathing suits, and bamboo mats to lay on top of the sand. Aoi bought a neon yellow suit while Kiana had picked out a crimson one-piece with an open back, "Oh I like that one! So cute! When you get older, we'll get another one." Kiana nodded, "Sally forth to the food court after this!"

"Doesn't all this chaos bother you?"

"What do you mean Kiana?"

"You said you have ataxophobia."

"Yes but that only pertains to my home so right now it's fine."

"Oh."

"Don't worry about it, I'll teach you everything there is to know about my phobia so I don't have a panic attack which may cause you to have a panic attack and then give me another panic attack and so on." Kiana nodded, "But you're a smart girl, I'm sure you've already figured out what you need to do at home." She nodded again with a smile, "Great! Now before we _actually_ head home, I need to stock up on my Snickers bars!" Kiana laughed as they headed to the food court for lunch, all the while keeping a close eye on their bags with their items in them.

"Akira, we're home!" she called through the house. Silence, "He's not home yet. Well, let's get this stuff put away!" Kiana followed Aoi around as she showed her their apartment, it was a two-bedroom with two bathrooms, and the kitchen was on the left when you first entered, living room on the right. They removed their shoes, Kiana was shown her room, it was a nice, the walls had been painted biege with Tatami mats everywhere. "I like Tatami mats because it reminds me of a dojo." The Irish girl smiled, they put her clothes away, hung up her dresses, put her undergarments in the proper drawer then her socks, and finally her blouses as well as her miscellaneous items. Shoes were placed in the closet on the bottom, once everything was away, Aoi took her to the kitchen to make some food, and Kiana watched as the woman began to prep vegetables.

"I'll make some stew tonight, that sounds good right?" Kiana nodded, "Alright, what kind of meat do you like?" She shrugged, "Very well then I shall put something in it and I'm not going to tell you what it is." The young girl giggled as Aoi gave a mock evil laugh before starting to chop the vegetables, they were slid in a colander in the sink so that they could be rinsed off. "Can you get the stock pot for me?" Immediately she did as she was asked, it didn't take much time to find it because Kiana had been the kitchen before at the brothel. "Akira tells me that you worked in the kitchen." She nodded, "So you know how to cook?" She nodded again, "Alright, make a side dish of soup for our stew. I want to see your skills." Kiana looked up at Aoi, she was smiling down at the young girl, and in a flurry of curly red hair; Kiana found a pot for herself.

Aoi watched as the girl took some potatoes, washed them thoroughly, peeled the skin off, and began to boil them in the pot that she found and had filled with water. The stove was turned on, she went to the kitchen, looked around for cream, found it, and set it aside then proceeded to look for something leafy and green. She only found leek, bok choy, and kale; immediately she took the kale out with butter. It was placed on the counter, she rinsed it off, set it aside, cut a little bit of butter, and put the rest back in the refrigerator. The salt was easy to find, she grabbed a wooden spoon, returned to her boiling potatoes, moved them around a little, and took a fork. She pushed it into one, "Not ready yet."

"What are you making?"

"Colcannon."

"What's that?"

"Soup made from mashed potatoes and kale."

"Ah." Aoi stirred the stewing vegetables before she turned away to cut up the surprise meat, and Kiana kept an eye on her boiling potatoes. Once they were finished, Aoi took the pot to the sink to drain it, the potatoes were left in the pot, placed back on the stove, and Kiana began to mash them with the wooden spoon. She added cream, butter, and a pinch of salt, the stove was turned to simmer once more. Blue eyes watched it bubble, she constantly stirred it then tossed in the kale leaves, and Aoi glanced over at her. "It smells good." The Irish girl smiled up at her adoptive mother, they heard the front door open, and Akira called out that he was home.

The pair of females replied, "Welcome home!"

He appeared in the kitchen, he was staring at them, his wife and adopted daughter were cooking together, and he removed his phone; snapped a picture. Akira approached his wife from the side, kissed her cheek then moved behind Kiana, he kissed her head, "My two favorite women in the world!"

"Akira, we're the _only_ women in the world for you."

"So true!" Kiana giggled, "Are you making food too?" She nodded, "Smells good! Well I'm going to shower and I'll be back." The pair nodded, Kiana had finished her soup, she turned the stove off, Aoi moved the pot to another one, and the stew had finished as well. The older woman grabbed some bowls, ladled the stew in three of them then ladled the soup into another three which were smaller than the others.

They were placed on the mats that sat on the table, Kiana had helped put the spoons out, along with coasters for the drinks. "Thank you Kiana," said Aoi. A smile caressed those rosy lips of the ten-year-old, tea was poured from a pitcher into glasses, and Kiana went to her own bathroom to wash up. "So cute!" When she returned, her hands were clean, and she showed them to Aoi, "You don't have to show them to me. I know you're clean." Kiana smiled brightly, "You're going to do just fine with us and here in Iwatobi. After all, Selkie's need water." Again there was that bright smile that made her blue eyes twinkle like stars, and the ladies took a seat at the table while they waited for Akira to return.

He did, "It smells so good!" He sat down, "Thank you girls so much for this." They inclined their heads at the same time and he chuckled, he took a bite of the stew first. "It's always good Aoi!" She laughed but tried Kiana's soup first, she paused to stare at it, and looked at the child who was blowing on her first spoonful of stew very carefully. "What is it Aoi?"

"Kiana." The girl looked at her, "Your soup is very delicious. How long were working in those kitchens?"

"Since I was five. I was told to cook for all the others there but on a budget so I used what I learned from a book I had about Irish food."

"I see..it's very delicious." Kiana smiled while Akira tried it and agreed, "Shut up Akira. You didn't try it first shame on you!" As they bantered back and forth, the Irish child laughed, and the adults looked at her, she ate her stew, and praised the softness of the meat. "I thought you'd like it. I used lamb." Kiana nodded as she took another spoonful to eat, the rest of the dinner was talked about Akira's new job, and what they bought at the mall.

After that, Kiana took a shower, dressed in her pajama pants and tank top then hopped into bed; her new parents knew that she was too old to be tucked in but Aoi still popped in to say goodnight. It was reciprocated and the door shut, Kiana laid down against the soft pillow, and mattress. She gave a happy sigh, glanced at the covered window, and let a content smile slide on her face. "I like it here...I'll make them proud."

-::::::-

Years progressed as she grew older, she grew more quiet, and even adopted Aoi's ataxophobia except it didn't just infect the home for Kiana. It began to infect her school life but it was fine, she managed it because it only applied to her notes and satchel, and Kiana was walking to the private school that they had enrolled her in. Public was out of the question since they felt she would want a better education and Aoi was insistent, she wanted the best for her little girl. The uniform was a simple red and black plaid skirt, a white blouse, plaid bow tie, black blazer, and black loafers with red knee high socks. The red was to symbolize her as a first year whereas orange was second and yellow third. Her hands held a leather satchel for her school supplies and books, she always opted to carry it in her hands rather than on her shoulder because she kept her field bag with her.

Her hair had grown down to her lower back, she left it loose, only pinned back by a red plaid headband, and she paused at a corner; waiting for a light to change. There were male students running around on the campus across from where she stood, she tilted her head, and read the words, "Samezuka Academy." She shrugged to herself, turned away from it, and crossed the street the first chance she had although not before making sure it was safe. Whistles were thrown her way, she ignored them, and continued onward to her own school. She read the words on the sign, "Izumi School for Girls." Again she shrugged, entered through the gates, and realized that she was very early but that didn't bother her, instead she headed straight for her homeroom.

She entered, took a seat near the window in the back of the class, the teacher entered, noticed her student, and smiled. After a few more minutes, the rest of the first years had entered, orientation had already occurred days ago so she was ready to learn, and she immediately noticed the looks the others gave her. Kiana ignored them, the teacher began role call the moment the bell rang, when she reached the 'H', she stated, "Hagano, Kiana."

"Present." The room looked at her since she had raised her hand as well, the voice that came from her was unexpected, it was soft but firm, authoritative almost. She nodded, continued down the list while her arm rested on the desk in front of her, and Kiana watched the teacher as the lesson began. Halfway through class, the teacher called on Kiana because she was the only one not taking notes, and the woman pushed up her glasses.

"What have I been talking about?"

"The geography of Mount Fujiyama. It's a dormant volcano and could erupt at any moment should the tectonic plates beneath Japan shift in just the right manner to release the magma hidden underneath the Earth's crust," came the reply. She stared at her, cleared her throat, and continued with the lecture. Once more she received those strange stares from her classmates, Kiana ignored it, and continued to listen to the teacher's lecture.

The day passed by uneventful, the only time she took notes was in chemistry and mathematics, but the other classes were simple enough. At the end she walked to the bulletin board to look at the clubs, nothing of interest caught her attention so she left the school, and began her walk home. Many of the students opted to stay on campus but she enjoyed the three mile walk to her home because she liked her parents. "I wonder what I should make for them today. Maybe gumbo or shephard's pie if there are any leftovers."

Huffing was heard behind her, she instinctively moved to the side, away from the road, and watched as a group of males jogged past her. They were wearing white hoodies, she ignored them, and her phone chimed; she removed it and looked at the text. "Going to be late Kiana, don't wait up for me. You and Aoi go ahead and eat." She replied back, "Sure." Another chime for a different text message, "So sorry Kiana! I'm stuck at the office!" She replied back the same thing, sighed, and continued to walk home once her phone was replaced in her bag. She passed by the group of males, they were resting on a bench, and one of them whistled at her but she promptly ignored it.

Again there was a whistle, a male stated for the other one to stop which made the whistler complain that he only wanted to talk to her, and she kept walking away from them. After some time, she heard huffing once more, her body moved to the side, and as they passed by, someone's arm grabbed hers. Kiana immediately used her satchel as a weapon, it hit the male square in the face, which made him yelp, and cause the others to stop in their tracks.

One male had long magenta hair, "What did I tell you?! Leave her alone!"

"I just want to get her name Captain!"

"No. You're going to do extra laps because of that."

"Yamazaki help me out here!" The tallest of the males looked at him and simply shook his head, "Oh come on! You agree with him?!" He nodded, Kiana had been watching the exchange with mild interest, she moved passed them, and the wind blew her hair back. The tall male stared at the scale burns on her cheek, so did the rest of them, and the male who grabbed her snickered. "Never mind. She's damaged." Even though she had heard him, she kept walking away because she knew it wasn't worth the effort to hit him again.

Suddenly a deep voice replied, "It's not up to you to judge if someone is damaged or not." Kiana paused in her tracks, turned to show her three-quarter view at the group of males, and the one who had spoken glanced at her. "Who cares? I think it's pretty neat." Bright blue eyes stared into those teal colored ones, "It matches your freckles." Instantly she felt flustered, her face heated up, and she turned away quickly while picking up her walking pace.

"Yamazaki! That's not fair to say that! Besides, you embarrassed her." He shrugged, the group continued jogging, but by the time they caught up to her, she had turned into an apartment complex. Only a select few males glanced in her direction as she entered the building's lobby to pick up the mail for her apartment.

Dinner was cooked, she made sure to have extra for her parents, she showered, and laid down on her bed; her mind went over the day and she couldn't get what that man had said out of her head. She rubbed her face with her hands, rolled onto her stomach, and fell into a light doze.

When she awoke the next morning, the first thing that came to mind was, "Freckles." She shook her head and began to prepare herself for class and the inevitable meeting of those males once again afterward. She only prepared a vitamin and protein shake for herself on the way to school, made her bento, and made sure everything was in her satchel before grabbing her field bag, and heading out. The morning was brisk but she didn't care, her hair was down once more, held back by the headband, except this time she left the front part of her hair to block the sides of her face. Red curls bounced with every step she took, her course brought her past Samezuka Academy, and she could see a tall male standing on one side of the gate; watching her. Kiana paused at the crosswalk once more, glanced his way, and he waved; the male jogger from the other day with teal eyes. She automatically felt her face heat up, blue eyes focused on the ground, looked up at him, and she gave a small wave in return before hurrying across the street.

In class her mind was on the lecture, memorizing every word, and the teacher didn't bother her with questions, again the day was uneventful so she had her lunch alone, and returned to her classes. The last bell rang, she exited the school, the school grounds, and proceeded to walk towards her home again. Her phone chimed, she opened it, "Gonna be late again. Sorry hon." It was from Akira and she replied, "It's okay. Work is busy." And he replied, "You're so understanding my Selkie."

Kiana smiled and replaced her phone, a masculine voice penetrated her thoughts, "You should smile more often." She glanced up to see the male from that morning, she stared up at him, she realized that she only came up to his chest, and he looked down at her with those droopy teal eyes. "What's your name?" She kept silent, looked at the road, and crossed; he crossed with her, "You're not going to tell me?" Kiana kept silent, "Okay, I'll call you Freckles." She scrunched her nose up at him as if to say she didn't like it, "Too bad Freckles."

She harumphed while walking at a brisker pace, he couldn't help the grin on his face, and he looked at her hair, "You're not from around here are you?" The Irish girl only shook her head, "Where are you from?" Silence, "Okay. I'll figure it out eventually Freckles." They continued their walk in silence, "You go to Izumi School for Girls so why don't you stay on campus like the others. You walk three miles in one direction that's six miles a day. Why?" She shrugged, he gave a low chuckle, and it made her stomach flip inside, every time he spoke it was like that, and before she knew it they lapsed into silence again.

It wasn't long before they reached her apartment complex, he watched her enter, "Good talk Freckles." She glared at him, he grinned, "That's a good look for you!" Kiana disappeared into the lobby, he turned around, and jogged back to the academy with that grin on his face.

"What is his deal?" Kiana entered, "I'm home." There was no response, she texted Aoi to see if she was late again, and her response was, "Oh my gosh! I forgot to text you! I'm so sorry!" Kiana laughed, "It's okay. Be safe." Aoi sent a kissing emoticon, she rolled her eyes, placed her school bag on the ground, slipped her shoes off, and headed to the kitchen to make some dinner.

Once more, she found it hard to sleep, only thinking of that guy who had walked her home, and she bit her lower lip. The butterflies entered her stomach once more when she thought of his voice but they died out when she questioned his motives. "He's so weird." She fell into another light doze, woke up the next morning, and found that he parents were in their bedroom passed out. Kiana smiled at them, prepped her shake, her bento, and her parents' bentos as well as their coffee. Again, she headed out in the brisk morning with her satchel, schoolbag, and thermos in one hand. The door was locked, keys dropped into her field bag with her phone, and she began the three mile trek to Izumi School for Girls.

Again she was the junction, she knew he was already there, wearing a black jacket with a white line, and black arrows along it lined by a red stripe. Blue eyes looked at his teal ones, he waved, "Morning Freckles." Kiana gave a single wave to him, looked at the street, and crossed while picking up her pace to head to the gate. Inside the classroom, she looked at her desk, obscenities had been written across it, she felt her chest tighten, and before the panic attack could happen; she grabbed a cleaning rag and some soap water. Kiana vigorously scrubbed the desk to rid it of the obnoxious words before her anxiety attack would set in. The teacher had seen her cleaning, tilted her head to the side, and questioned her about it; Kiana explained to her that someone had defiled her desk. The teacher couldn't do anything about it but the red-haired young lady was satisfied once it was clear of everything. The rag and soap water were replaced in the close, she took her seat once more, and the rest of the class filed in.

Blue rings watched every girl that entered, two of them snickered at her but were soon shocked as they saw her clean desk. _Bingo._ For the rest of the day, she kept her eye on those girls, they were in most of her classes, and she listened to them talk. Mostly about boys, especially the ones at Samezuka Academy since they were all swimmers but then the talk turned to them being gay since none of them ever paid any attention to them. After learning a little bit more about the two classmates, she headed for her usual spot for lunch, under a large oak tree. Kiana finished, packed her bento up, returned to class, and found that her desk was defiled yet again. This time, the girls confronted her about it, "You think you're so special little girly."

The other one taunted, "We're going to make sure you're life is a living hell by doing this to your desk every single day." Kiana stared at them both, they laughed at her, laughed that annoying laugh, and she clenched her teeth together. Her chest tightened from anxiety but she didn't have an attack, instead she took her satchel, and hit each of them as hard as she could with the front of it where the buckles were, in their faces. They screamed out in agony while clutching their faces, the two scrambled out of the classroom, she proceeded to clean her desk, and suddenly she realized something.

"That felt good," she whispered. Kiana was pleased with herself, she cleaned her desk, sat down, and waited for the class to start. The two girls had skipped, when it was time to leave, she was called over the intercom to come to the principal's office. Of course this brought stares at her since she was silent, Kiana simply obeyed, and headed there. She was invited inside, she took a seat, and looked at the woman before her; she had long blue hair and lavender eyes.

"I am Hotaru Izumi the principal of this academy and you are Kiana Hagano a student at this academy. I've received word that you hit two of your fellow classmates. Why?"

"I have ataxophobia."

"Yes I know."

"They defiled my desk in the morning but I cleaned it." The woman nodded for her to continue, "They did it again after lunch and confronted me. Telling me that they would continue to do it every single day so that it would interfere with my peace of mind."

"I see. Your mother has this phobia as well." She nodded, "I see well it usually pertains to the home so what happened with you?"

"I like to keep things tidy and clean even in my classes and satchel. Is that so wrong?" Hotaru stared at her, Kiana's voice had dropped dangerously low at the end of her words, and it appeared that young girl didn't realize it. "My parents work late."

"I know. I won't say anything but don't let this happen again."

"I understand but ataxophobia is not something that can be controlled and my reaction to what they did will continue to occur because I don't have anxiety attacks like my mother. I apologize in advance if I become too violent from the matter."

"No, it's fine. Go on." Kiana stood, bowed, and wished her a good evening, "You too." The Irish girl left and Hotaru sighed as she slumped back in her chair. "Violence in reaction to being disturbed from her phobia, this is going to be an interesting three years. Hopefully she'll reign that temper in but we'll see."

"You're late," came that familiar male voice. She looked up to see him waiting at the gate for her, "You get in trouble or something?" She nodded and he looked mildly shocked, "You? Little quiet Freckles got in trouble?" She nodded again, "For what?"

"Hitting classmates with my satchel."

Her voice was quiet, he liked it, it sounded so calm like the surface of a still pool, and he asked, "Why would you do that?"

"Ataxophobia."

"What is that?" She stayed silent, "Okay Freckles, I'll look it up." He whipped out his phone and began the search of the strange word that she had muttered as they walked along the pedestrian path. He scanned it quickly, "Interesting. So they must have done something to upset you." Kiana nodded, "Well they got what they deserved but doesn't it usually end in a panic attack?" She nodded again, "Guess they changed that for you." Kiana gave a slight nod once more, "Well, that's good to know Freckles. You _do_ have emotions."

She looked up at him, he grinned down at her, "Why are you talking with me?" He stared at her, the gaze she gave him was intense, "Why?"

He shrugged, "You shouldn't be walking home alone in your school uniform." Kiana simply stared at him, "If you were closer then I'd walk you to school too but that's unavoidable." He was silent for a bit, "You should at least carry a weapon or something." At this she held up her satchel, he stared at it, and chuckled, "Right. You have a weapon already and you know how to use it well." When he chuckled, Kiana glanced away quickly so that she could focus on the path ahead but she didn't account for him pushing her hair aside to see the scars on her cheek that trailed down her neck and disappeared into her blouse. "What happened?" She kept silent so he let her hair fall back into place, of course silence ensued but it was comfortable, and they reached her complex. "Bye Freckles." He waved to her and what surprised him most was that she gave a small wave in return, he grinned, and headed back to the academy.

"I'm home." Kiana was smushed into a pair of breasts, she involuntarily laughed, and when she was released, Aoi was grinning at her. "Hi Mom." She held a hand over her mouth and promptly squeezed against her chest once more, this elicited another laugh from Kiana. Once her school bag was set down, her field bag hung up, and her shoes removed, she smiled.

"I'm cooking! I'm cooking!" Kiana nodded, Aoi patted the chair at the kitchen table, "Tell me about everything!"

"I got in trouble at school."

"Why?"

"Some classmates defiled my desk twice."

"Oh no, you didn't have an attack did you?"

"No," she looked down at the table while Aoi stared at her, "I hit them with my school bag." When those blue eyes looked up at her, she was stifling laughter. "The principal told me to be more careful and I'll try."

"I know you will. So anything else?"

"I met a boy."

Immediately Aoi set the casserole to cook in the oven, dashed to the table, and sat across from her adopted daughter. "Tell. Me. Everything." She was keenly interested in who this boy was and so Kiana started to tell her from the beginning. "So he walks you home everyday so far?" She nodded, "How odd and he calls you Freckles because you didn't give him your name?" She nodded again, "And he's tall?" She nodded once more, "How exciting! It's like a mystery admirer that you see everyday! What school does he go to?"

"Samezuka Academy."

"Even more interesting! I can't wait to tell Akira."

"I'm home!" The two girls replied to him, he entered, hugged his wife, kissed her passionately, and hugged Kiana. He squeezed her and spun her around before placing her on her feet once more, he sat down at the table with them. "So what have I missed?" Aoi looked at Kiana, she nodded, and told Akira everything that Kiana had told her in the last thirty minutes. "Give me his appearance." Kiana stared at her adopted father, he whipped out his phone, and dialed a number. "Touta I need you to look up all male students at Samezuka Academy that are anywhere from one-hundred-eighty centimeters and above. Then look to see if they have short brown hair and teal eyes." When the other male asked what it was for, he replied, "Someone has an interest in my little girl." The other male stated that he'd have it ready for him in a few minutes, "Great! Text it to me!" Once his phone was on the table, he felt something hard hit the back of his head, and he yelped. "OW!"

Brown eyes looked up to see Aoi seething at him, a rolling pin in her hands, "You do not need to interfere in her life! He walks her home everyday! He's a gentleman and even picked out a cute name for her!"

"But, but, but-"

"No buts. Once you find out who he is, you tell me."

Kiana laughed, both parents looked at her, and she smiled at them, "Thank you." This prompted the two of them to hug her and she felt happy for the love she was receiving from them. Aoi left to check on the casserole and Akira asked what she thought she wanted to do after high school. Kiana smiled brightly, it made her eyes twinkle, "I want to be a Criminal Forensic so I can help you at the station." Akira's eyes watered, he hugged her tightly once more while Aoi smiled warmly, and she gave a muffled response, "Can't breathe Dad." He leaned back to look at her only to repeat it again, Aoi smacked him once more with a rolling pin, and Kiana laughed.

Later in the evening when Kiana had gone to bed, Akira whispered to Aoi, "His name is Sousuke Yamazaki and he is one of the top ten Butterfly Swimmers of Japan." Golden eyes widened at him, he nodded, "So I'm good with it." She agreed with him, "Maybe we can meet him but I doubt it, he's a third year, and she's a first year."

Aoi snickered and replied quietly, "Maybe he'll become a police officer or detective and work under you Chief Yamamoto." He laughed, snuggled with his wife, and kissed her passionately. "It's been awhile." He nodded, yanked the covers of themselves, and Aoi was heard giggling with him laughing as well. The husband and wife fell asleep peacefully after thirty minutes of romping around and Kiana only had one thought running through her head and it was, Freckles.


	2. Criminal Forensics

**Disclaimer:** I do not own _Free! Iwatobi Swim Club_ they belong to Koji Oji or any of the characters portrayed in it, I simply own the character named Kiana Hagano, some others thrown in, and that is all. This was inspired by a a spur of the moment idea (don't judge me XD ) so I hope you all enjoy it as much as I do writing it.

 **Chapter 2** \- Criminal Forensics

"Hey, I won't be seeing you any more Freckles. I'm graduating so make sure you don't hurt too many classmates alright?" Blue eyes stared at him, she sighed, he approached her, he turned her chin up so that he could look down at her. "Don't worry, I'll still be in Iwatobi so as long as you stay here, we'll cross paths again." She tilted her head in curiosity but he only grinned, leaned down, and placed a kiss on her forehead. "Take care Freckles." She waved to him and repeated the same thing to him. It was the last time that she'd seen him and she _still_ didn't know his name.

She blinked a few times, wondering how long she had been remembering that day, "It was nine years ago that he graduated and eleven for me." Her voice was still quiet as the train pulled into the station, she exited, walked through the station to the entrance, and was promptly embraced into a pair of breasts. She laughed, "I'm home."

"My little Selkie!"

"Hi Mom."

Aoi stared at her daughter, "You've grown so much, so beautiful my little Kiana." The younger one smiled, "Come on! Let's go home and get you unpacked. You can stay with us for awhile until you get settled at your new job." Kiana smirked and stated that she probably already knew it, "I do! Akira told me, I'm so excited!" She nodded, "Have you heard from that boy?"

"Not since he graduated because we didn't exchange numbers but I was thinking about the last time we spoke on the way over here."

"Oh? Why that?"

"I don't know."

"Do you like him?"

"I don't even know him that well but he was a good friend."

"I know and he kept you a secret from his friends that's why you never saw them." Kiana nodded, "Aww, he had you as his secret little friend. That's so cute!" She mentioned that he kissed her on the forehead and Aoi nodded, "A sign that he does care about you even if it's in a friendly manner." The two women climbed into the car and Aoi was excited about bringing home her daughter who had graduated with her degree in forensics. "My husband and daughter working together, not many mother's get to say that!" Kiana laughed, "I got some phone calls while you were in college about your ataxophobia, still violent?" She nodded, "Who cares! You can throw stuff at people at the station and be completely fine since your dad's the Chief!" She laughed again, once at the apartment, she carried her bags in, and set everything up in her room. "Just remember that if you want to be with a man then text us and stay at his place."

"I know the rules." Aoi laughed, the pair entered the kitchen, and began to make the same thing they had when she was ten years old; lamb stew and colcannon soup. Akira stated that he was home, the girl's greeted him, and he had the same reaction that he did all those years ago. He kissed Aoi passionately then kissed Kiana's head. "Hi Dad."

"You can start tomorrow! I'm so excited to introduce you to the crew and we _do_ need a good forensic because I know you'll do your best." She nodded and he grinned, "I'm so excited!" Aoi eyed him suspiciously, "I've got four great detectives and now I'm going to have a great forensic! I'll put you on the shifts with them because I trust them to protect you when you have to accompany them to a crime scene or the morgue." Kiana nodded, "Very good! I'm going to wash up."

She said, "He knows something doesn't he?"

"When does your father _not_ know something that we don't?"

"Touche Mom." The two laughed together as Akira returned to sit at the table, once it was all finished, everything set up, and they began to eat. "I missed this." The others agreed with her and they chatted about her college years, her phobia, and her violent nature that she promised to keep under control which prompted Akira to laugh heartily.

The following morning, Kiana was getting ready for her first day as a Criminal Forensic at Iwatobi Police Station, and decided on something simple to wear. She pulled on a navy pencil skirt with a white blouse and a matching navy vest. Her black loafers were by the front door, she grabbed her field bag, dropped her keys in it, slipped the phone inside, and headed to the kitchen. Kiana didn't bother with a bento that day but just her morning protein and vitamin shake but she did prepare breakfast for her parents. When they awoke, two plates of omurice were sitting there for them with coffee, and they hugged her.

"You look wonderful Kiana," replied Aoi.

"Thank you. I remember this is how you used to dress for work so I thought it was a good approach."

"It is," answered Akira. "But you can wear whatever you want, jeans, tee shirts, boots, whatever you want because you're forensics. You're a bit formal for the job description."

"Would you rather have me wear my jeans and a plaid shirt?"

"Yes."

"Is it because this is too showy?" He nodded and Kiana chuckled, excused herself from the table, and entered her bedroom where she removed her formal clothes. She replaced her blouse and vest with a dark red work shirt, her skirt was changed out for jeans, and she carried her short brown boots to the front door. Her field bag matched her boots so she looked at her family, "Better?" Akira gave her a thumbs up as did Aoi, she smiled, and once Akira finished; the pair headed out to the station.

"Your badge will be waiting at the front desk so do you want to go in together so people don't realize you're my daughter?"

"I don't care Dad. Let them wonder, if you're worried just say that you picked me up from the train station."

"You're so smart!" They got out of the car, Akira headed in first, after a few minutes, Kiana followed after; luckily it was still early. She entered, there was a magenta haired woman at the dispatch counter, blue eyes stared at her, and she knew she had seen that color before. "Morning Gou."

"Good morning Chief!" The woman looked at Kiana with her red eyes, "You are?"

"Kiana Hagano, Criminal Forensic," she replied with a bow.

"Yes! We've been waiting for you. Here's your badge." She was handed a badge with a chain attached to it, Kiana put it around her neck, and Gou grinned. "Welcome to Iwatobi Police Station. Your office is just around the bend there." Kiana nodded, "It's great to have you aboard." Gou noticed that she was staring at her hair, "Can I help you with something?"

She blinked a few times, "Huh? No, I'm alright." Gou noticed that she was soft spoken, the woman smiled, and watched her walk behind the Chief. When the doors opened once more, Gou greeted the other two with more enthusiasm, and Kiana ignored it.

"Good morning Rin! Sousuke!" They replied the same to her, Kiana paused in her tracks, Akira looked over his shoulder at her, and her blue eyes locked with those brown ones of her adopted father. He was grinning at her as Gou continued, "Our new forensic is here!"

The one named Rin said, "Oh really?" The voice she recognized from eleven years ago, he had been yelling at the one who whistled at her, and the other male's voice was something she would never forget. A tone that she would know anywhere but it was still the magenta haired male that asked, "Where?"

"In front of you."

Suddenly that familiar voice spoke, "Freckles." Gou and Rin stared at Sousuke along with the other officers present, he had a small smirk on his face, and she turned around to face him. "I told you that we'd cross paths again." Blue eyes stared into those teal lagoons, Rin looked at Kiana, and gasped as he stated that she was the one from all those years ago. Sousuke replied, "Yep." He strode up to her, "How have you been?" The air intensified as everyone wanted to know what was going on, she looked up at him, and gave a small wave. "You haven't changed a bit have you?" She shrugged her shoulders, "I guess not." They were quiet for a bit and he leaned down, his voice was a murmur, "That's good."

"Hang on a second!" Sousuke looked at Rin, "How do you know her?"

All eyes were on Kiana as she spoke with that subdued voice, the one Soususke had liked all those years ago, and a small smile on her face, "It's a secret." The officers present gawked at her, she turned around, and headed straight for her office while Sousuke stared after her. Eventually he went to his own office followed by Rin who kept pestering him with questions as to how he knew her, he took a seat, and looked at him.

"I used to walk her home from Izumi School for Girls."

"Why?"

"After that whistling fiasco it felt like the right thing to do."

"I suppose. Do you know her name?"

"No, that's why I call her Freckles." There were files on his desk, "Come on, we have to take these to the new forensic." Rin grinned as Sousuke got up, the pair went to her office, she was organizing everything to her personal satisfaction, and she left sticky notes everywhere stating that it had be like this and that it must be neat because of her ataxophobia. A knock was heard on the door jamb, she looked up, "Got some files for you to look at." Kiana approached him, took them, and nodded but he didn't move. "What's your name?"

Blue rings stared at him before looking away, "Kiana Hagano."

"Sousuke Yamazaki and this is my best friend and partner Rin Matsuoka. It's nice to meet you after all this time." She nodded, sat down, opened up the files, and began to flip through them; immediately she grabbed a pen and a piece of paper. She started to write things down that didn't seem to coincide with what happened to the victim. "Found something?" Kiana nodded, grabbed the files, the paper, placed them in her satchel, and paused as Sousuke was still in the doorway. He leaned down towards her ear and whispered so quietly that Rin couldn't hear him, "Can I have your number?"

"Why?" she asked just as quietly.

"Aren't we friends?" She shrugged and he gave a low chuckle, she felt her stomach flip, and she murmured for him to give her his number. He did so, "I expect something from you later Freckles." She rolled her eyes at the nickname, he allowed her to pass through, and she headed to the Chief's office. Kiana knocked on it, he told her to enter, and she did. Sousuke felt a nudge in his side, "What Rin?"

"You _like_ her!"

"No, she's just a friend."

He snickered, "No she's not. I haven't seen you look at _any_ woman like that. I mean Yuri broke up with you when?"

"She sent me a text right before we entered the station."

He gaped at him, "And you're not upset?!" The teal-eyed swimmer shook his head, "Why not?"

"I saw her standing there, she's the only one with that kind of hair so I knew right away it was her. Just seeing her brightened up my day just like at Samezuka. It's not something that I can really explain."

"Is that why you walked her home?"

"Yeah, I saw her in the morning too. She walked three miles to and from that school but she never told me the reason why." Rin shrugged, "It was still nice to see her, I missed her at Police Academy, her presence is just nice to have around."

"And you're telling me that _after all that you said_ just now, you don't like her in that way?"

"No."

Rin patted his shoulder, "Well maybe you'll see it for yourself before she's taken away."

"Taken away by whom?"

"You don't know her taste in men." Sousuke fell into silence next to Rin as they waited for her to exit the office. "But I do have to say that she's really observant so maybe she'll see it before you unless she's just as oblivious."

Kiana exited the office, Akira did as well, "Detectives Yamazaki and Matsuoka, accompany Hagano to the morgue. She needs to analyze the body." They nodded, she followed them out of the station, and Gou waved to her as she passed by. Kiana returned that wave and Akira grinned while he leaned against the door of his office, "This is going to be the most interesting thing to ever develop here at the station."

Meanwhile, the car ride was silent, she was sitting in the back, thinking about what she would need to do, and Rin was driving. He spoke up, "So Kiana." Her gaze focused on him, "Sorry about that guy that whistled at you." She waved it off and he grinned, "Sousuke tells me he walked you home everyday until graduation." She nodded, "He didn't give you his name?"

"I didn't ask."

"Did he ask for yours?" Kiana nodded, "And you didn't tell him. That's pretty cool."

"I didn't talk a lot back then."

"You still don't talk a lot," replied Sousuke. She looked at him, "It's not a bad thing."

Rin asked, "That's alright so what made you want to become a forensic?"

"To help my Dad out."

"Is he a police officer?"

"Yes."

"But there aren't any Hagano's at the station, " chimed in Sousuke.

"I'm adopted." The two males stared at her as she returned to looking at the scenery, eventually they arrived at the morgue, and she got out. They lead her to the area, explained to the male worker that they needed to see the body again. He nodded, pulled it out, and Kiana reached into her bag; she tied her hair back into a messy bun at the base of her neck. Gloves were pulled onto her hands, small tools were removed from her satchel along with a collection bag, and she picked up the hand of the victim. The nails were dirty, she began to gently scrape off the dirt, it fell into the bag, and she sealed it. Her blue eyes roamed over the arm, bruising was evident there in the shape of fingers, and Kiana paused. Tweezers were removed from the satchel, very carefully she used them to pluck an extremely short hair from the inside of the arm pit of the victim. It was dropped into another bag, sealed, and placed in her satchel carefully.

Sousuke and Rin were fascinated with how she worked, how she analyzed things, and how her eyes simply roamed over the body to look for anything out of the ordinary. When the forensic reached the feet, she looked at the dirty bottom, scraped more dirt off, and then took samples from underneath the toenails. It wasn't as grueling like the other forensics because she only came to do her job, once she took one more look at the body, she pulled the sheet back over it, and tossed her gloves in the trash. Kiana looked at the male who closed the body up inside the machine, "Thank you for your time." She bowed to him, turned on her heel, and exited the area. He began to ask questions from Sousuke and Rin about her but they only thanked him and followed her out into the daylight.

"You don't seem too bothered by dead bodies on your first day, why?" asked Rin.

She blinked a few times and looked away, "You get used to certain things after awhile." Sousuke opened the door for her, she climbed in, nodded her thanks, and they proceeded to return to the station. His eyes kept glancing in the side mirror to watch her, the only thing she did was gaze at the scenery that passed by.

Kiana went straight into her office, Gou asked if they found something, and the two males nodded which made Gou grin. The two males returned to their office but Sousuke found his eyes wandering to Kiana's office, so he exited his, and entered hers. She was already analyzing the dirt found and a piece of the hair, she even wrote down her findings all the while wearing gloves as a safety measure. After a few minutes, her computer beeped, blue eyes glanced at it, she hit the print button, and swiveled around in her chair to face the printer. The paper was printed out, she turned back around to put all the evidence away, and pack it up into a small box. The file was closed, her gloves tossed away, and she grabbed the photograph of the man that had been printed. She stood up but paused as she saw Sousuke in the door way.

"Are you stalking me?"

"Nope. I just wanted to see how you work." The paper was given to him, "Is this the culprit?"

"His hair and skin samples under the victim's nails check out. Go ahead and bring him in for questioning, you'll see. Also I looked up all his known addresses so you can find him easier and some of his relative's as well in case you can't find him at one of them." Sousuke thanked her, she rewarded him with a smile that made her eyes twinkle, and he stared at her. "It's my job, I only wish to help." He nodded, left her office, returned to his, grabbed Rin, and the pair headed out to find the man in the photograph. Kiana had taken her small box of evidence and headed to the Evidence Room so it could be logged.

Once it was logged, she waved to the man there, and headed into the main area, Akira popped out of his office, motioned for her to enter, and she did. The door was closed behind her, she took a seat, and he asked, "How do you like it so far?"

"You could have told me that he'd be here."

"Nope, I wanted it to be a surprise since he walked you home and it surprised me even more when he came here as an officer. Now he's a great detective just like his friend."

"I'm comfortable here." He nodded, looked at her, and she grinned, "They know I'm adopted but they don't know who my father is because I told them he's a police officer." Akira laughed, "I must be going." He nodded and told her to be safe, "Sure Dad. You too." He nodded, she left his office, returned to hers, and simply wiped things down so she would have some kind of busy work. Suddenly a knock was heard on her open door, eyes glanced in that direction, a male with brown hair and brown eyes was standing there. She only stared at him as he entered leaned against the counter and she moved backwards in her chair so that she would have some distance between them.

"You're the new forensic huh?" Kiana nodded slightly, "You're very pretty so why don't you go out with me after work?" She shook her head, "Aww, come on. It's tradition that you go out with the best cop around."

"Leave if you have no business here," she replied. He stared at her since her voice had taken on that authoritative tone it had back in her school days, a way to warn those in front of her of her impending actions. The male declined, she picked up her satchel, stood up, and was about to move past him until he grabbed her wrist. Instinctually she whacked him with her bag, he was so surprised by the action that he stumbled out of her office, and into the hall. The noise attracted some passing policeman by, they paused to stare as the male who hit the wall was bleeding from his cut lip, and Kiana stood in her door way. Again that low tone of voice, "If you ever come near me again then you'll regret it besides you're not the _best_ cop around." The male growled at her and asked who was, "Sousuke Yamazaki." He stared wide-eyed at her as she continued to glare at him, eventually he stepped forward, and her hand tightened on the handle of her satchel.

One of the males that paused to stare stated, "Hasegawa get back to your post!" The male harumphed, walked away from her, and she looked at the on who had called to him. He nodded to her, she smiled her thanks to him, and disappeared back in her office but this time she closed the door. She sighed and realized that it was going to be rather difficult to do work if there were people like that in her vicinity but she knew she would perservere as she had done school even some of her class mates had gotten injured from her.

A few hours passed, Sousuke and Rin returned with the man in handcuffs, they took him to the interrogation room, and she simply sat in her little office. A knock resounded on her door, "Come in." It was pushed open, a female officer entered, and stated that there were some things that needed to be tested. "Sure. In an hour I should be finished with them." She thanked her, left, and Kiana pulled on gloves so that she could get to work. As time ticked by, the results were printed, she turned away from her computer to see the woman standing there, the paper was handed over, "Here you go." Once more Kiana was thanked, "It's my job."

Another few hours passed as she was reviewing some case information, that familiar voice invaded her mind, "You wanna get lunch?" She looked up to see Sousuke standing there, she thought about it, and suddenly became very bashful. "Come on." Kiana closed her case file, put it in a secure location, grabbed her satchel and field bag, and stepped out of the office. She locked it up, turned around to see him waiting, and became bashful once more. He patted the top of her head, "Come on Freckles."

"Selkie."

"Huh?"

She took a breath, "My nickname is Selkie."

"I like Freckles." Kiana stared up at him, his expression was unreadable so she left it at that, Rin was waiting outside with Gou, and the two appeared. "I convinced her to come with us."

"Great!" exclaimed Gou. Kiana stared between Rin and Gou, the woman pointed to the other male with magenta hair, "He's my brother." Kiana nodded as if that answered all of her questions about the two so the four of them began walking to the cafe that was just down the street and Gou sidled up to Kiana. "So how'd you meet these two?"

"I went to Izumi School for Girls, Samezuka was on the way to and from. They were jogging by on my way home one day."

"I see. But wouldn't you have stayed in the dorms?"

"I walked three miles there and back every day because I wanted to spend time with my family."

"You were with them for so long, wouldn't you have gotten tired of them?"

"I'm adopted."

"Oh, I'm sorry." Kiana shrugged and Gou laughed, "You're tough aren't you?"

"Only on the outside. I'm really very gelatinous." The three of them stared at her, Kiana had kept a straight face, and Gou burst into laughter. The magenta haired woman exclaimed that she liked Kiana so she asked for her phone number. "O-okay." Kiana never gave hers out, instead she asked for Gou's, it was input, she texted the girl, and Sousuke realized that he had received one at the same time but he didn't want the others to know that he had her number so he kept quiet about it. They reached the cafe, each one took a seat outside, and Gou started talking about Iwatobi. "I like it here." She was asked by Rin if she had any questions, "Who's Hasegawa?"

"Tsutomu Hasegawa," came Sousuke's flat reply, "Why do you want to know about him?"

"He asked me out, said that it was tradition to go out with the best cop, and I told him no. He grabbed me so I hit him with my satchel." A small smirk made its way onto the teal-eyed detective's face, "He said he was the best cop around, I told him he wasn't."

"Then who's name did you give him?" asked Rin.

Kiana looked at him and immediately looked at the table, "I said Sousuke." Teal eyes focused on her, he immediately liked the sound of his name coming from her, she blushed lightly which brought her freckles even more, and Rin asked her why. Blue rings glanced into those lagoons, she looked back down at the menu in front of her, and bit her lip. Sousuke said to forget about it, she gave a small sigh, and picked up the menu but then Gou asked something else.

"What's with those marks on your neck? They look like snake scales."

"Burns from when I was younger."

"What happened?"

Her brow furrowed, "I'd prefer not to talk about it. Up until I was ten, it wasn't a happy place for me."

"Okay." Kiana looked at Gou, she was smiling, "When you're ready, you have my number until then it doesn't matter." She smiled warmly at the opposite female, Gou blinked a few times, and smiled back, "We're all your friends now, not just Sousuke." The Irish woman nodded to her, the waitress came up to them, and they began to order their drinks and their food. "You saw Samezuka on the way to school, do you know what that is?" She shook her head, "It's a swimming school! Sousuke and Rin were great swimmers!"

"Hey! I'm still great!" exclaimed her brother.

"Oh? You still practice?"

"Yes, I do."

Gou grinned, "What about you Sousuke?" He nodded so the attention turned to Kiana, "Do you swim?"

She fidgeted with her hands, "I don't know how." Gou patted her hands, Kiana looked at her, and the woman said that she didn't know either until someone special took the time out to teach her.

"I'm still mad that you're with a Mikoshiba."

"Shut up Rin! I like him."

"Whatever."

"Just because he's your old captain doesn't mean you have to be so rude like that."

"I'm not rude, Seijuro and I get along just fine."

"Uh-huh."

Rin gave a shark-toothed grin, Kiana only stared at the banter between the siblings, it confused her greatly but she had a small smile on her face as they went back and forth, and her phone chimed; to let her know that she had a text. Blue eyes looked at it, the message was from the man who sat opposite from her, and it stated that he would teach her how to swim after work starting tomorrow. Kiana glanced up at him, again his expression was unreadable but she could see that mischievous glint there, and so she agreed to it.

"Where are you from?" the question came out of left field, she glanced at Gou, and thought for a minute. Her brow furrowed with confusion as she couldn't quite remember what the town was called and she was surprised that it didn't bother her that much.

"I don't know the name of the town. I was born in Ireland then came to Japan."

Gou gasped, "You're Irish?!"

"Half."

"That's so cool!"

Kiana shrugged, "If you think so."

"No really, that's awesome." Kiana shrugged again and the magenta-haired woman was so excited by it, "So you don't remember anything about Ireland?"

"Just the food that I cooked." Kiana paused as she wanted to tell them so she took in a breath, remembering that Aoi told her to make friends with those that didn't care about her burns, and these three didn't seem to care at all. "My biological father passed away when I was small, after that my mother sold me to a woman who ran an unsavory place here in Japan. I worked in the kitchen for years until she wanted me to do other things." No one saw it but Sousuke was seething on the inside, Rin listened attentively, and so did Gou as they could only imagine what she was inferring, "I refused and I was punished for it but a man saved me and that same man then adopted me. He brought here to Iwatobi with his wife because he had a new job since he was retiring from the other one."

"Who was the man?"

"He worked for Interpol then retired and was given a new job but before he could save me," Gou was ecstatic that her adopted father used to work as an international police agent but Kiana tapped the burns on her neck, "This was punishment for refusing that woman." Gou asked how far it went and Kiana looked at the tabletop, her voice quiet, "I'm not ready to discuss it."

"When you're ready. But..what exactly is it?" she asked tentatively. Kiana looked at the table once their food and drinks were delivered, "You know what?" Blue eyes looked at those red ones, Gou patted her shoulder, "You don't have to tell us."

She smiled, "You'll see it eventually, I'm sure." She nodded, they began to eat their food, Kiana sipped her beverage quietly while Rin talked about the station and which people she should avoid. She looked at him, "I have violent tendencies when someone disrupts my ataxophobia. That's why I put sticky notes all over the office."

"Really?" asked Rin. She nodded and he grinned, "Well then, we'll have to see who pesters you the most about it! Do you know how to defend yourself?"

"No, that's why I have this," she replied and lifted her satchel. Rin burst into laughter while Sousuke held a small smile on his face. After lunch, the four returned to the station, of course, Tsutomu was there waiting for them, and he tried to ask her out again. Kiana ignored him, he grabbed her wrist, and before she could hit him with her satchel, Sousuke gripped the male's wrist roughly. Tsutomu let go, the detective moved between the two, and Kiana stared at his broad back.

Sousuke whispered just for Hasegawa, "Touch her again and I'll make sure you get traffic duty for the next year." Tsutomu paled, he released him, and stated, "Hagano there's probably some evidence in your office that needs to be analyzed." She nodded, headed straight for her office but not before Gou gave her a wink, and that confused her even more. Once in the safety of her room, she glanced at the few boxes then removed the lids to look at the contents, and Sousuke knocked on the door. The Irish woman looked up at him, "Sorry about that. I don't like to call you by your last name." Kiana shrugged, "You really are a tough girl." Again, her shoulders moved to show that she didn't care, and he gave a small smile. "Take care Freckles and don't forget about tomorrow."

"I won't."

He paused, "You don't call me by my name." Kiana felt trapped, she had been caught, and she sheepishly stared at the counter. "Say it."

Kiana stared at him, he was waiting patiently, she bit her lower lip, and whispered, "Thank you Sousuke."

"You're welcome Freckles." She scrunched up her nose at the name, "I really missed that reaction." There was a low chuckle from the broad shouldered male, she glanced away from him quickly but couldn't hide the light blush on her face because her hair was still tied up in a messy bun. "Why are you blushing?" She kept silent while pulling on latex gloves so she could get started on the evidence, "If you need anything don't hesitate to text." She nodded, he left the room, and closed the door behind him; she sighed and flopped into her chair.

"What's his deal?" The question was the same one from eleven years ago and even then she didn't have an answer. Kiana returned to her work at hand, she was waiting for some samples to finish, and decided to get some coffee from the break room. She exited her office, walked down the hall, passed by the Detectives' office, and entered the break room. The pot was empty, Kiana only shook her head, she took it, cleaned it, removed the top part to clean it, placed a new filter in, and some coffee grinds. Water was added, she pushed the button to start it, and a familiar voice made her smile.

"I'm so glad somebody else knows what to do with that!"

"Coffee Gou?"

"Yep." Kiana smiled at her, "I think Sousuke likes you."

"Hm? What makes you say that?"

"He's protective of you, I've never seen him like that even with his other girlfriends. The fact that he's not upset by getting dumped this morning proves it."

"This morning?"

"Yeah, he was going out with this girl named Yuri for a few months. This morning she dumped him right before he entered the station but when he saw you, all of his sadness was swept away. It's like you're a lighthouse for him."

She raised a single eyebrow at her new friend, "That doesn't make any sense."

Gou laughed, "Look, a lighthouse guides ships," Kiana nodded, "so it's like you guide him away from depression or feelings of loneliness."

"Why me?"

" _That's_ the million dollar question." Kiana nodded, wondering if this was all true, "Just pay close attention when he's around you. You'll see I'm sure since you're observant." The magenta haired woman was grinning while the coffee brewed. "So how do you like it here?"

"It's comfortable." Goud nodded, "Do you swim after work?" She nodded again, "Maybe I can accompany you."

"Sounds great. You'll get to meet my boyfriend too! And Rin will probably come with Koari and Sousuke will probably tag along if you're mentioned." Kiana smirked and said she had someone who wanted to teach her, "Really? Who?" She only stared at her as if to say, 'do you really need to ask who?' and Gou grinned. "Awesome! It's going to be so much fun, you'll see."

"I always wondered something."

"Yeah?"

"I'm not comfortable around new people at all but I'm comfortable with you."

Gou smiled, "I was the manager of Iwatobi Swim Club when I was in high school so I'm used to being a friendly person. Maybe that's why."

"Maybe but it's most likely that you're like Sousuke. You don't care about the scars."

"Why would we care? It's just skin." Kiana stared at her, Gou was grinning, and the Irish woman laughed which made the dispatch girl stare in shock before grinning even more. Blue eyes looked at Gou, they were twinkling, and she had to ask her something. "Sure."

"When I first met Sousuke, a male saw my scars and said that I was damaged." Gou nodded, "Sousuke seemed angry when he replied that it wasn't up to him to decide if someone is damaged or not. It made me think that he went through something like that or has a dark secret of his but I could never ask him."

Her eyes softened, "You should ask him."

Kiana sighed, "I'll try."

"That's a start!" The machine beeped, signaling that it was finished, each one took a styrofoam cup, and Kiana muttered that she needed to bring her own cup, "Yeah me too." They paused and looked at one another but Gou was first to ask, "Wanna go shopping for coffee mugs after work?"

"Sounds good." They walked passed the Detectives' office together, Rin and Sousuke looked up as they passed by, stared at one another, and returned to work. Kiana waved to Gou as she entered her office, the samples were still be run through the system, and she took a seat. A knock made her look up, Akira stood there, and asked if she was alright. "I'm fine. I'm going with Gou after work to look for coffee mugs, you want one?"

"Yes! Thank you!"

Kiana grinned, "I might be home late."

"Don't say that! I want your cooking!"

"What about Mom? Her cooking's good."

"Yeah..but it's been so long since I've had yours."

Kiana laughed, "There's a roast in the crock pot that's been stewing on low since this morning." Akira gasped, "I made sure that dinner would be ready." Akira entered, hugged her, and gave a wave before he departed her presence. "He hasn't changed a bit." She sipped her coffee, cologne permeated around her, she recognized it, and glared up at Hasegawa. "I told you to leave me alone."

"Not now, not ever."

"Why?"

"Because I can do what I want. My father's the lieutenant of the police!" Kiana got up so that she could possibly escape him but he pinned her to the wall. She looked as he purposely knocked a can of pens over, they scattered across the floor, she stared at the mess, and fidgeted under his grasp. "I don't think you have that stupid phobia at all." He used one hand to pin her two above her head, blue eyes only saw the untidiness on the floor, and she kept squirming. He inched closer to her, "I want you and what I want, I get." Kiana used her shin to hit between his legs, he released her immediately then she used the heel of her boot to stomp on his foot, he yelped, and she followed through with a jab to his throat. Tsutomu stumbled out of the office, gasping for air, and into the hallway. Rin exited the office, stared at the display, and motioned for Sousuke to come out; he did and they watched together.

Kiana emerged from the office, hands clenched in fists, her body was shaking, "Your father is the lieutnenant?" He nodded while still gasping, stating through breaths that she's going to be fired, and her voice was dangerously low, "My Dad is the Chief." Tsutomu's eyes widened, she whirled around, stomped back into the office, and began to pick up the fallen pens.

"Her dad...is Chief Yamamoto?" asked Rin.

"Apparently," replied Sousuke.

There was a nudge in the brunette's side, teal eyes looked down into those red ones, "You've got your work cut out for you!"

"What are you babbling about?" Sousuke walked passed the gasping male, looked inside the office, she had just finished picking up the pens, placed the container back on the desk, and placed the pens back inside. Kiana looked up to see the taller male, she sighed, he approached her, and plucked a few loose strands so that they fell against the side of her face since they had escaped her messy bun. Kiana just stared at him, he tilted her chin up, and placed a kiss on her forehead. "You'll be alright." She nodded, "After all you're a tough gelatinous Selkie." Blue eyes stared into those teal lagoons, Rin had been peeking in from the doorway, and she laughed. Sousuke stared, her eyes twinkled, she brought her hands up on either side of his face, and gently tugged him down so that he leaned over until he was level with her.

Kiana turned his face to the side, placed her lips against his cheek, and drew out a chaste kiss, "Thank you." She released him instantly, the computer beeped, and she turned her full attention to that while Sousuke left the office, and entered the hall. He stared at her back, glanced to the side to see Rin grinning, and he shook his head while heading back to their own office. Hasegawa was still on the ground writhing while a few other officers had seen and heard the exchange but they only snickered.

At the end of the shift, Kiana waved to a few her fellow co-workers, she was outside, and waited for Gou. Rin and Souske exited too, "What are you waiting for?" asked Rin.

"Gou."

"Why?"

"Going shopping."

"For what?"

"Coffee mugs."

"Your adopted dad is the Chief huh?" She nodded, "And he used to be an Interpol agent?" She nodded again, "You're just full of surprises aren't you?" Kiana chuckled, Gou popped out, and the two women waved to the two males. The Matsuoka sister looped her arm around her new friend and they walked to the bus stop together. "Maybe we should at least drop them off somewhere."

"They'll be fine," replied Sousuke.

"Speaking of that, let's a drink. I've got a _ton_ of questions to ask you."

"What is this? Drunk interrogation?" Rin grinned and the two males headed in a different direction meanwhile the females waited for the bus to arrive.

"I know the perfect place. There's this little shop that this bus stops right in front of but it could be a little while." Kiana shrugged, "Great! It's going to be so much fun."

"I have to get one for my Dad." Gou nodded, "I should tell you since Rin and Sousuke know but my Dad's the Chief."

"I sort of knew that when I saw him call you into the office earlier today." She tilted her head, "Plenty of new people have come and go and he never _once_ called them into his office to see how they were doing." Kiana chuckled, "He's so obvious that I think he wants to be found out." She told her what happened with Tsutomu, "Well that's good that you put him in his place."

"I don't like to use his power like that."

"It's fine. Hasegawa won't bother you any more."

"Good."

"If he does?"

"I'll tell Sousuke. I have his number."

"Why do you have his number?"

"He asked for mine because he said we're friends."

"Snap chat with him!" She chuckled and Gou gasped excitedly, "So at Samezuka he was given a nickname." Kiana looked at her, "He was called the chubby whale shark."

"He's not a whale shark." Gou stared and burst into a fit of giggles, Kiana grinned, "Maybe I can find one with a whale shark on it. A coffee mug." She nodded her enthusiastically, "And one for Rin. He's a shark right?" Gou laughed, "He has that personality." The bus arrived, they hopped on, and headed for the little shop that Kiana's new friend told her about.

Once there, they browsed the sections, Kiana did manage to find a whale shark mug, Gou was ecstatic, the shark was located soon after, and she found one for her father. It read, "Most Ludicrous Father," and Gou laughed at it so they began to look for ones for themselves. Kiana was searching and she found one, it was the last one there, and she immediately fell in love with it. It was white with a single seal on it but the seal was submerged in the water so all that was revealed was the head but it was such a cartoon seal that she had have it. A round head with large glossy eyes and a smile on the seal's face, she liked it very much. Gou appeared with her own mug, it had flowers on it, Kiana showed off the seal, "It's so cute!"

"Selkies are Irish mermaids that turn into seals in the water."

"That's awesome!"

"My parents call me Selkie as nickname, I like it." Gou agreed, "Sousuke calls me Freckles even though I said otherwise except he did call me that today. I laughed then kissed him on the cheek in thanks." Gou's mouth dropped open, Kiana scratched the back of her head but her new friend was ecstatic.

"You're perfect for him."

"How so? I'm violent when there's a mess."

"I think he likes that."

"Why?"

Gou's eyes twinkled, "Because then he gets to _restrain_ you." Kiana's face blushed bright red, "Aww! Lookit all your freckles!" She snapped a picture, "I may send this to him!" Her face brightened even more, "Can I send it to him?" Kiana shrugged, it was her the only reaction she could do at the moment so Gou grinned. She only sent the picture without any words attached to it, "All done. Let's pay and get on home." Kiana agreed, they paid, of course she paid for all the cups, Gou protested but she explained that she wanted to buy her new friend a gift. "Thank you!"

"You're welcome. I'll see you tomorrow morning."

"Sure!" They headed in separate directions, Kiana had placed her mug bag in her satchel, Gou was carrying hers, hugging it to her chest, as she headed for the bus stop that would take her home. Kiana waited at hers, it arrived, she boarded, and headed home. A smile evident on her face, she took out her phone, and found Sousuke's number so she could send him a text.

She closed one eye, stuck her tongue out, and snapped a picture; she added a tag line, "Got a present for you." Kiana sent it to him, she put her phone away, and grinned to herself. "Gou is a good person, she gets me to be more open, and it has to do with the fact that she doesn't care about my burns. Mom was right, there are true friends in this world and I just happen to work with them too."


	3. Swim Selkie Swim

**Disclaimer:** I do not own _Free! Iwatobi Swim Club_ or any of the characters portrayed in it, they belong to Koji Oji, I simply own the character named Kiana Hagano, some others thrown in, and that is all. This was inspired by a a spur of the moment idea (don't judge me XD ) so I hope you all enjoy it as much as I do writing it.

 **Chapter 3** \- Swim Selkie Swim

Teal eyes stared at the coffee mug on his desk, Rin stared at his, and was grinning, "I wonder who this is from."

"Kiana."

"Huh? How do you know?"

"She sent me a text last night that said she had a present."

"Aww, that's so sweet! She got me one too! Wait a minute. Why do you have her number?"

"Asked for it. Told her we were friends." Before Rin could ask anything else, they heard shuffling outside the door, both of them looked to see Kiana and Gou walking towards the break room. The two detectives followed after them with their mugs in hand, Kiana had already put sugar in her cup, and waited for the coffee to finish brewing while she leaned against the wall next to Gou. "Thanks for the mug Kiana!"

Blue eyes looked at the Matsuoka brother, "You're welcome."

"Gou tell you my nickname?"

"I guessed after she told me Sousuke's."

"So what was your reaction to his?"

She stared directly at those lagoons, "You're not a whaleshark." Gou couldn't help the grin on her face, Rin was flabbergasted, and Sousuke only stared at her. Kiana's attention was riveted onto the coffee maker as she realized that his gaze was intense so she opted to focus on something else; namely the coffee dripping ever so slowly into the pot. She gave an involuntary cough, once the coffee was finished, she grabbed some but waited for the others to hold out their cups. After the other three had some, she replaced the decanter, and squeezed past Sousuke since he refused to move from the door way. He felt her chest brush against him, she lifted her cup to show the seal, "Selkie," and headed to her office.

"Sousuke ask her out," chimed Rin.

"She's just a friend."

"Uh-huh, keep telling yourself that."

"Oh!" They looked at Gou, "She's coming with me to swim today after work." Rin was grinning while Sousuke stayed emotionless and they went about their day as usual although the teal-eyed detective was having a hard time focusing on his work. Kiana informed her father of her plans after work, he was more than ecstatic to hear them, so she made sure to bring her beach bag with her, the one that Aoi had bought when she was ten. It had everything she needed in there, goggles, swim suit, towel, bobby pins, and hair ties.

The day winded down, Kiana packed her forensic satchel inside the beach bag, placed her field bag inside it as well, and slung it over her shoulder; making sure that her seal cup was secured inside. Once everything was checked over, she waved to a few officers, and headed outside to wait for the others. Kiana made sure to text her mother what was going on so that she knew just in case her father forgot to mention it. Of course Gou was the first one out, she had her bag as well, she looped her arm around Kiana's, and giggled incessantly. She was ecstatic and the half-Irish woman felt the infectious smile slip onto her face, Rin and Sousuke followed after, the former stating that he'd drive them all there.

"Where do you swim?"

"Iwatobi Swim Club. It's a nice indoor pool!" She nodded to Gou, "My high school swim team exercises there too so it's great. I think you'll need a membership."

"It's fine."

"Come on! Come on!" Gou tugged on Kiana's arm, she lead her to Rin's car, and they climbed in with Gou sitting in the front passenger seat which left her and Sousuke as back seat partners. Kiana glared at her magenta-haired friend but she knew it was all in good faith, Kiana had her bag between her feet on the ground.

Sousuke looked, "Won't your other things get dirty?"

"No. Both are inside which means they're clean."

"So put it on the seat."

"The cloth will get dirty."

"It's not your car."

"It's in my vicinity."

Teal eyes stared at her, a small smirk slid on his face while she looked outside to memorize the route there, and they lapsed into silence. After a short while, the car was parked, Kiana opened the door, got out, grabbed her bag, and closed it. The building brought a smile to her face, Gou immediately dragged her inside to sign up, and when an older blond male intercepted them; she backed off.

"Gou! It's so good to see you! Seijuro's already here and giving Rei a hard time." She rolled her eyes and stated she had a new member for him, "Well come on in!" He looked at Kiana, "I'm Goro Sasabe, the owner. It'll only take a few minutes to get you set up." She nodded, followed him into the nearby office, filled out some paperwork, and handed over the necessary money. "Great! Here's your membership card and you're free to have fun!"

"Thank you." Goro blinked and grinned as wandered off to file the papers away, Gou reclaimed her arm, and dragged her into the pool area. A male with spiky orange hair spotted Gou, he grinned, pulled himself out of the water, and strode towards her.

Gou grinned, "This is Seijuro Mikoshiba, my boyfriend."

"Hi! Nice to meet you!" She gave a small wave while trying to hide behind Gou, "You're shy but it's fine. We're all friends here. What's your name?" Kiana gave it, he nodded, "Pleased to meet you. Well go on and change you two!" Gou waved to him and began to show her Irish friend around to the locker room while Sousuke and Rin made their presence known. "RIN! SOUSUKE!"

"Hey Seijuro," replied the magenta-haired male. Sousuke only nodded and the Mikoshiba began to ask questions about Kiana. "She's our forensic at the station and it turns out Sousuke met her at Samezuka in his last year so they're long time friends." He nodded and asked if she had a boyfriend, "Listen if you _think_ about cheating on Gou, I'll kill you." Seijuro put up his hands and stated it was for Momo and that was when Sousuke chimed in.

His voice was flat, "He's not her type." He blinked a few times at the taller male, he had brought out that intimidating air around him that he was known for at the station, and Seijuro grinned.

"I understand. Hopefully you will too."

"He's stubborn," replied Rin.

"Well we can help!"

"I've tried."

"Try harder." Rin smirked at his old captain as the girls returned, of course Kiana had her bag with her since she didn't feel comfortable leaving it in a locker, and her clothes were folded neatly inside. The two women took a seat on a nearby bench, she removed her hair ties, bobby pins, goggles, and towel. At this point Sousuke and Rin left to get changed so the Mikoshiba male sauntered to the two girls, Seijuro stated, "Nice tattoo!"

"It's not a tattoo."

"Then what is it?"

"Scars."

"In the shape of snake scales?" She nodded, "That's awesome." Kiana stared at Seijuro, she gave a small smile and returned to her task at hand. "What are you doing?"

"Braiding my hair."

"Why?"

"It's too much for the pool filter to handle." Goro was nearby and heard it, he immediately decided that she was his favorite member, and Gou watched as she parted her hair into two sections. Kiana braided one, tied it off, braided the second, tied it off, and then pulled her right braid across the top of her head just behind her hair line, she pinned it in place behind her left ear. The left braid was positioned right behind the other braid and pinned behind the right ear. Gou said it was cute, "You've never heard of the milk maid?" She shook her head, "Here, I'll do one for you too." The other woman was ecstatic, Kiana found it was easier to do on Gou, once it was finished, Seijuro stated how cute it was, and Gou blushed.

"How bad are your burns?" asked the female. Kiana stood up, showed her left arm, Gou grimaced, but when she revealed her open back, she gasped. "That's horrible!" Kiana shrugged and explained that was the punishment, "I don't care. I hope she got what she deserved." The half-Irish nodded while Rin and Sousuke returned. They also stared, the teal-eyed male approached Kiana, she looked up at him, then bashfully turned her face away, and he reached out his hand to touch her chin. He tilted it so he could look at it, "Leave it alone Sousuke."

He smirked, "Still pretty neat." She blushed lightly, "Shall we get started?" Before anything else could be started, a loud voice squealed and Kiana saw a blond male run by to hug Rin. "Nagisa," the male was ecstatic that they came, he hugged Sousuke as well, and his attention focused on Gou.

"GOU!"

"Hey Nagisa. How have you been?"

"I just got back from traveling to Fiji and Rei was off so we came here to swim." She nodded, "You've gotten better right?"

"Of course but now we have to teach another one how to swim." Immediately Nagisa's attention turned to Kiana, he gasped, and started talking very fast. No one present could even understand him, when he finished he looked at her expectantly.

"I'm Kiana Hagano, it's nice to meet you. I'm Gou, Sousuke, and Rin's work colleague and friend; I'm a criminalist forensic. I met Sousuke eleven years ago when I went to Izumi School for Girls and recently met Rin and Gou at work." The others stared at her, she blinked at them, "You should try to listen to an Irish person talk or a drunk Irish person."

The silence was broken by Sousuke, "You don't have a swim cap." She shook her head, he removed his from his bag, sat down next to her, and stated, "Hold still." He placed it on her head to protect the majority of her hair, she thanked him quietly, "Keep it. Come on, to the water." Kiana nodded, she watched him massage his shoulder, and immediately she knew something was wrong. She tapped Gou, pointed, and the other girl nodded to show that her speculation was correct. Kiana nodded, got up, and sauntered to the edge of the pool, Sousuke had already gotten in the water, and by the time she sat down at the edge; a presence was felt behind her.

"So beautiful!" Kiana glanced over her shoulder, blue eyes met lavender ones, and she stared at the strange male. He was focused on her, "Very beautiful." She continued to stare at him, "I'm Rei Ryugazaki..." His voice lowered, "Have my children."

Kiana just stared at him blankly, "Pardon?"

"Have my children, they'll be beautiful."

She coughed, "I'm sorry but no."

"Why not?"

Kiana stayed silent, Sousuke turned around to see Rei staring at her, he had heard the conversation, and smirked when she declined him but now he had asked her a very important question. "You're not my husband."

"Marry me."

"I don't know you."

"Go out with me. Tomorrow night."

"No."

"Why?"

She bit her lower lip, looked away, and came into contact with those teal eyes. She murmured, "You're not a chubby whaleshark." Rei had heard her but Sousuke didn't as he swam up to the edge of the pool and glared up at the blue-haired male.

"I see." He smiled, "I can change your mind, given time." Rei was going to leave however he saw the snake scale burns, "Not beautiful." He paused and whispered, "Well you're free to pursue the chubby one. See you around." He headed to the locker rooms followed by Nagisa, when he was out of sight, she gave a heavy sigh, and Sousuke chuckled.

"He's harmless."

"What was that about?" He explained to her that Rei only like beautiful things, teal lagoons watched as she only stared at him then nodded before she decided to put her feet into the pool's still surface, and waited for her body to get used to it.

"It's warm." Kiana nodded, gently slid the rest of her body in, and gripped the edge of the pool so hard it made her knuckles turn white. However she froze up when Sousuke ran his hands on her waist, he gripped her, "I got you." Kiana still couldn't let go of the edge, "Do you trust me?" She glanced over her shoulder, nodded, and released her death grip on the concrete edge.

Sousuke pulled her close to his body, her back hit his muscled chest, and gently took her to a more calm spot. Then he turned her so that she was on her back and instructed her to float, Kiana felt his hands on her back, he stated that he wouldn't let her go, and she nodded. Kiana let herself float on the water's surface, "Very good." He took this moment to let his eyes roam over her body since she closed hers in order to feel the water better, he noticed that her chest was well developed, her body toned but there was some slight softness around her, and he looked at the scars that littered her left arm. Sousuke returned to her face, blue eyes opened, looked at him, and he said, "I'm removing my hands okay?" She nodded, he took his hands away, she floated by herself, "See? Step one, float. Step two, stay in place."

He guided her to move her body so she was vertical in the water once more, he told her to kick her legs back and forth while moving her arms as well, "You're pretty good at this. Are you sure that you need help?" Kiana huffed, he moved around her to watch, and made sure that she didn't lose her stamina. "You have a lot of stamina too." She harumphed, moved in a circle to face away from him, "I didn't say you could face away from me." His voice was low as if he was trying to threaten her but she knew better, Kiana saw him move in front of her, and she stared at him.

"What happened to your shoulder?" Those teal eyes only looked at her and he didn't respond so she decided to try something else, "It's not just my arm." He tilted his head ever so sightly, Kiana moved so that her back was facing him, and he noticed that the scars were there too. When she moved back around, she asked again, "Your shoulder?" Still he didn't answer and her voice dropped, "Okay." This time she would try to swim to the edge of the pool, she maneuvered to face it, and saw Gou there. The magenta haired woman gave subtle motions on how to get to the edge so she followed suit. It wasn't easy for her but she took it slow, Sousuke caught up to her, and she paused to catch her breath.

Lips were close to her ear, she glanced away from him, and he murmured, "I'll tell you only if you watch me swim." Kiana nodded, Sousuke helped her to the edge of the pool, she climbed up the side with Gou's help, and sat down next to her friend. She was grinning at the Irish woman, Sousuke got out, looked at Rin, and said, "Let's race."

"Sure!" The two males approached the diving blocks, pulled their goggles on, and Gou rolled her eyes. "Tell us when to start Gou!" On cue, she yelled, and they took off; Kiana was astonished at the power they exerted. Blue eyes widened slightly as she watched Sousuke move through the water, his speed was remarkable, and Gou grinned as she caught a glimpse of her expression.

"Sousuke was one of the top ten Butterfly swimmers of Japan back in high school," explained Gou. Kiana was shocked, "But something happened with his shoulder. He'll tell you?"

"He said if I watched him swim."

"He better tell you." Kiana nodded in agreement, "Otherwise I'll make a mess of your office and say that he did it." Blue eyes turned to Gou and the curly haired woman chuckled, the males hit the wall, and Sousuke surfaced first. Rin was cursing, "Hey where's Koari?"

"Training. Said she couldn't make it but would try to next time."

"Okay. So what'd you think?" Sousuke was standing next to Rin, Gou looked at her friend, and Kiana stared into those red eyes.

"It was amazing. I've never seen anything like it, the power, the speed."

"Welcome to the world of competitive swimming," chimed in Seijuro. He sat down on the other side of Kiana, she looked at him, "It's a tough world, some make it, most don't." She nodded, "What about you? How come you don't know how to swim?"

"Never had a reason to."

"What did you do for exercise?" She shrugged and he laughed, "I see why Sousuke likes you." Kiana tilted her head in curiosity as said man was only a few feet behind her and grumbled that she was just a friend. Seijuro smirked, "Sure she's just a friend." Still Kiana stared at the orange-haired male until what Gou had said about watching the teal-eyed detective popped into her head.

Instead of elaborating on it, she leaned back, Sousuke looked at her, and he could clearly see her cleavage, "Your shoulder." He headed to the bench near her things, she got up, excused herself from their presence, and took a seat next to him. He stated that he injured it so he couldn't compete any more, blue eyes looked at it, and she climbed on the bench so that she was on her knees. Sousuke looked at her, fingers placed themselves on the injured shoulder, and she said, "It's okay. Things happen for a reason." He was rewarded with a smile that made her eyes twinkle, she began to gently massage the area that she assumed was the damaged section, and he looked at the ground.

She didn't realize it but he covered his mouth with his left hand since she was massaging his right, a faint blush on his cheeks, and Rin was grinning. His best friend snapped a few pictures of the scene, Gou did as well, and Seijuro just couldn't wipe the smirk off his face since Sousuke realized that he cared for the woman next to him but he just wasn't sure in what way. Finger pads pushed slightly harder, he muffled a moan since his hand was still covering his mouth, it was becoming increasingly difficult for him to stay quiet due to her ministrations, and he was torn between her stopping or continuing. _Maybe if it was in my apartment it could continue._ Sousuke cut that thought were it ended, he used his left hand to pat her hands, to show that she did a good job, and she leaned back. "Thanks Freckles."

"Selkie."

"Freckles."

"Selkie."

He was quiet for a few minutes, "Freckled Selkie." Blue eyes rolled at him, she removed herself from the bench, and headed to the pool, "Where are you going?"

"To practice." She gave a mock wave to him as she sauntered to the edge of the pool, Gou was laughing at her, she entered the water with Gou as her teacher this time since it wouldn't be so awkward. But the Matsuoka sister wanted to teach her so she could have some gossip time with her new companion and Kiana only smiled at her without giving any answers but listened to her talk. After a few hours, she was resting on the sidelines with Gou, they watched the three males race one another, and Kiana began to learn a little bit about the sport of swimming from her new friend. She stared at her, "Pardon? You said you have a muscle fetish?"

"Yes. Look when they get out." The three males climbed out of the pool, "Just look at the those _gorgeous_ muscles!"

"Do you mean that for your brother too?" Gou laughed loudly at Kiana, the other woman only grinned, and the three males were perplexed as to what they were talking about. She stated that she loved Seijuro but admired Sousuke and Rin for their determination to stay fit as they were in high school. "It's hard for them, isn't it?" She nodded, "Maybe we could help."

"How?"

"Make bentos for them."

"That's a great idea!"

Kiana fidgeted in her seat, "I'd only make one for Sousuke though."

Gou grinned as they looked at one another, "Sooooo do you like him?"

"Um..I don't know. I'm bashful around him but that's only because he's very intimidating. I know he cares for me like a friend, he worries, I can tell. I think he sees me as a _treasure_ to be protected rather than _someone_ to be treasured."

"Oh I see what you mean. It's possible but if you really do like him then you'll have to make him see past all that."

"I suppose but I don't know how."

"Give it time, you'll figure it out or he'll come around." Kiana nodded, "But you _do_ see what I mean about him being protective and possessive of you?" She nodded again, "Alright we can totally make bentos for them! I make one for Seijuro so making one for Rin won't be hard but you have a tough time with Sousuke."

"I know. High metabolic rate plus his size means that he needs a lot of calories but that doesn't mean it has to be poor calories."

"You're pretty smart."

"You have to be in order to be a forensic."

Gou laughed, "If I ever need any help, I'm coming to you." Kiana smiled and nodded then thanked her, "For what?" She shrugged, Gou laughed, and the girls grabbed their bags so that they could head to the locker room in order to change. Kiana was showering, she heard a snap, and a familiar giggle; Gou had just taken a photograph of her in the shower with bubbles cover her chest and lower region. "I'm sending it to Sousuke!" Again, Kiana's only reaction was to shrug and continue washing off, her hair stayed wrapped in the swim cap, when they exited, the males were already waiting for them.

Kiana removed the swim cap, slipped it in her bag, and this warranted a small smirk on Sousuke's part; her hair was still in the milk maid braids. He patted her head, "You did pretty good." She shrugged, Rin said that he'd take them home but she declined. Sousuke looked at her, "Why?"

"I live in a different direction than all of you. I'll be fine. I'll text you when I get home." She waved to them, "See you tomorrow morning." With that she headed off into the general direction of her home, took the proper bus there, and the moment that she entered the complex, she texted Sousuke that she was home. A text came in return with a thumbs up, she smiled, opened the apartment door, and said. "I'm home." No answer, she sighed, texted her father and her mother; both of which said they were busy working late. "It's okay. I'll make dinner for them.

-::::::-

A week progressed with Kiana's routine, except this time was different, she was making a healthy bento for Sousuke, and one for herself. She finished it, wrapped his up separately, packed it in her beach bag, and headed out for the morning. Her father was going to come later so she opted to take the bus there, she was sitting by a window, watching the stops pass by, and the bus paused at one stop to pick up more passengers. People were walking by, she thought she saw an image of a familiar woman only much older, she had long straight black hair, and those unmistakable green eyes. Kiana watched as someone walked by, the woman was not there, and she felt her whole body flare up in rage. _I thought I would be scared but I suppose I've been waiting for revenge. We'll see, I'll talk to Dad later on when I get a free chance._

She got off at the station, waved to the driver, and headed inside; of course she was still early, so she dropped the bento off on Sousuke's desk, and headed for the break room to start coffee. The forensic stopped in her office to drop off her beach bag, retrieve her coffee mug, and return to the room to await the delicious aroma of brewing coffee. It wasn't long before Gou appeared, "You dropped it on his desk?" She nodded, "I did too!" Kiana chuckled, her mug already had sugar in it, the coffee was dripping slowly, and matching magenta hair appeared in the room with them. "Hi Rin."

"Thanks for the bento Gou. Why?" She explained that it was Kiana's idea to help out with food to keep up their regimen. "You two are the sweetest girls ever. Thanks." They nodded, "Sousuke's coming in a bit later so I'm getting coffee and guarding his box. I want to see his face!" Rin grabbed what little was in the pot, poured really quick while Kiana had her mug under the drip so it wouldn't land on the burner. Once it was replaced, he headed back into his office, and Gou asked if she could do the same. Kiana nodded, once her friend had coffee, it was just the Irish woman in the room.

A shadow blocked the doorway, she knew who it was, "You're making me bentos now?" She nodded, "You're not my girlfriend."

"You're my friend."

"Don't make them. I don't need others thinking you're my girlfriend." Kiana poured some coffee into her mug, she paused in front of him, moved her eyes up, and gave him a look that asked him to move. "Don't make them anymore."

She nodded, he stepped aside, and she whispered, "Is that so bad though?"

He watched her leave, what he didn't know was that she entered the office, Rin looked at her, she grabbed the wrapped bento, and left with it. He was perplexed by the action, Sousuke entered minutes later, by then she was already locked in her office. Rin asked, "What did you tell her?"

"I told her not to make any bentos for me. I don't want people thinking she's my girlfriend."

"Is that so bad though?"

"She said the same thing."

"Yuri dumped you and you even said that she brightens your day so what the hell is wrong with you?" Teal eyes looked into those angry red ones, "I've seen you date a bunch of women, not one of them even made you remotely happy, and I've _never_ seen you interact with them the way you do with Kiana. So what gives?"

"We have work to do."

"Yeah but it can wait until we figure this out."

"We?"

"Yes, 'we.' You're so oblivious...no...you're not. You don't see Kiana as a woman do you? You simply view her as someone that needs to be protected, which is fine and dandy but how can you protect someone if you don't want to be with them?" Sousuke stared at his best friend, "You're not with her twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, how do you expect to protect her?" Silence, "I thought as much. Figure your feelings out Sousuke until then, leave her alone."

"Where's the bento?"

"She took it. Apparently you telling her not to make bentos for you means that she took this one away so you're not getting it. Gou told me that she and Kiana only wanted to help with our regimen of staying fit so that bento was meant to be healthy and packed full of nutrition for you but you turned it away." Sousuke stared at his friend again, "You're a complete mess Sousuke."

"I know."

"Give her a chance."

"I can't."

"Why?"

"I'm not over Yuri just yet."

"Fine, take your time. I won't mention another thing to you about this, we've work to do, but I don't want to hear you complain if she finds someone else." The day progressed by, when Akira entered, she was busy analyzing samples and traces of gun powder. Of course he knew something was wrong, he knew whenever Kiana engrossed herself in work, she was angry, never upset, only angry. There was a knock on the door, she got up, unlocked it, and cracked it open; she saw Rin. The door opened up fully, he entered, she closed it, and locked the door once more, "You're really mad huh?" She nodded, "You even drew the blinds!"

"I don't want to see him."

"Listen, Sousuke can be an idiot sometimes. He's not over his ex just yet."

"I don't care. Friends can't make other friends bentos?"

"Yeah...Yuri used to do that for him, I think that's why."

"Fine. He can starve. I'll give this to my Dad."

"Actually...could I eat it?"

"Sure." She handed it over to him, he thanked her, she nodded, and said, "I'm not talking to him so you can tell him that he doesn't need to teach me how to swim. Gou said she'd have one of her friends do it."

Rin was about to leave and asked, "Who?" She shrugged and Rin grinned, said his goodbye to her, closed the door, and she re-locked it once more. There was a grin on his face as he returned to the office, as the lunch hour rolled around, Kiana ate her bento without leaving her office, and placed the empty box in her beach bag. She got up, exited her office, closed the door, locked it, and sauntered to the Chief's door; she knocked lightly.

She was told to come in, she entered, he was ecstatic to see her so she closed the door behind her, and took a seat across from him. "I wanted to tell you earlier but I was busy. On the bus this morning, I saw someone very familiar at one of the stops but she disappeared when a man walked by. I'm not sure if it's my imagination or something more."

"Tell me everything." Kiana nodded, she leaned forward, and began to tell him from start to finish what she saw. He sighed, "It's Madam Snake. No one could forget her hair and eyes," Kiana nodded, "well..let me make a few phone calls and see what's going on. I'll text you the details." Kiana nodded, stood up, and headed for the door, she opened it, and he told her to wait. Blue eyes looked into those brown ones of her adopted father, "Be very careful Kiana. Aoi and I love you very much."

Her eyes softened, "I love you and her more. I want you and Mom to be even more careful because she cannot be trusted, she's a snake in a human body."

"I agree. I'll text your mother."

"So will I." Kiana left the office, Sousuke and Rin were heading her way so she bypassed them to get to her office, once inside the sanctuary, the door was slammed in Sousuke's face, and promptly locked.

"She's angry."

"You think?" Rin only grinned, "Those bentos were really good but Kiana's was the best." After the Irish woman texted her mother with the details, she returned to her work at hand, and finished it off. The boxes of evidence were packed up, stacked on top of one another, and she headed out of the office. Once more she bypassed the two detectives to get to the Evidence Room. Sousuke took a step in her direction but a hand made him stop, "Leave her unless you're going to apologize." A sigh from the brunette, they returned to their office while she returned the evidence, and upon her return, gathered the necessary information to pass onto other officers in the station.

Gou couldn't help the smirk on her face as the two rode on the bus to get to the swim club, mainly because she didn't want to ride with Sousuke, and Gou was having a blast. They hopped off, headed for the locker rooms, and emerged. Kiana had put her milk maid hair on again, did Gou's, and grabbed her bag. It was set on the bench, the swim cap left inside, and she waited for Gou's friend to appear. It didn't take him long, Sousuke and Rin entered the locker rooms, and Gou's friend emerged from the water.

He approached the two girls, Gou got up with Kiana, and introduced them, "Kiana Hagano meet Haruka Nanase."

"Pleased to meet you," she replied.

"Same. Call me Haru. Come on." She followed him to the water, he slid in easily, and she followed suit while Gou was grinning from ear to ear. Seijuro patted her on the head, she looked up at him, and he was grinning. A kiss on her temple revealed that he agreed with what she did and the pair headed to the water so they could swim together as well. "Tell me what you know how to do." She explained it, "Alright, we'll start with the front crawl." She nodded again, so he maneuvered her, and she felt surprisingly comfortable around him. Haru didn't talk much and didn't stare intensely at her so she felt wildly more comfortable around him, he even explained some things to her so that she could better her form. Kiana noticed that he had blue hair and blue eyes, the hair reminded her of Rei but that thought was pushed from her mind as he spoke about water. The way he spoke about the liquid made her realize that he loved it on a personal level, something she wouldn't understand but admired all the same.

"You love water." He nodded, she gave a small smile, "It deserves more love than others are giving it. You have a very philosophical mind." He stared at her as he held her positioned in the water while she practiced the strokes, "Thank you Haru." Again he nodded but silently watched her with hidden keen interest as he had never met another person before that understood what his love of water meant to him, he knew she didn't understand but admired it all the same. "Gou didn't tell me anything about you but it's okay." She gave him a small smile, "I trust you."

"Why?"

"Someone who loves and appreciates water as much as you do and on a personal level cannot be a bad person."

The two were still in the water when Rin emerged with Sousuke behind him, and the red-eyed male grinned as he greeted the other one in the water. "Haru!" When said male turned to see his friend, Sousuke stiffened as he saw Kiana in the water with him. Rin couldn't help that his grin widened even more, he jumped into the water, and swam towards the two. "You're teaching her the front crawl?" He nodded, "Kiana, you're pretty good."

She maneuvered so that she could stay in the water, "I guess Selkies are naturally good swimmers." Haru looked at her, "I'm half-Irish. Selkies are Irish mermaids who turn into seals in the water. When they approach land, they shed their seal coat to become human, if you find a seal coat then you can turn into a Selkie as well or if you hide one, then said Selkie must marry you. Male Selkies cannot stay on land past midnight, they'll perish but females can." Haru only stared at her, she didn't feel bashful around him so she turned away, and began to do the motions that Haru had taught her.

"Kiana you're really good! You must be a real Selkie!" She reached the edge of pool, pulled herself out, and sat down on it with her feet still in the water. Haru noticed the scales but didn't say anything, she looked at Rin, and gave thumbs up. He laughed, "No, really. You're really good at this."

"I have the best teacher." Sousuke felt his chest tighten, she didn't look at Haru or Sousuke, only Rin, suddenly Gou plopped down next to her. She looked over, the woman whispered something in her ear, and she smiled. "Thank you Gou, I know you told him the reason." They hugged one another, Haru swam up to them, and hoisted himself next to Kiana. The pair of women leaned over to look at him, his eyes were staring at Kiana. "Hm?"

"I own a restaurant down the street."

"I'll come by sometime to see you Haru." He nodded and Gou grinned, "Thank you for today." He nodded again, "You come here everyday?" Another nod, "Are you going to come at this time from now on?" Again another nod and she wore a small smile, "Thank you."

"Give me your number." She told it to him, "I'll text you later." Gou asked why, "We're friends." Kiana smiled and nodded until Sousuke stated that he wanted to race Haru. The other male got up, mounted the diving block, and waited for the challenger to do the same. Gou asked Kiana quietly if she was going to watch Sousuke, she replied a negative, and the other woman chuckled. The two males were about to start but Rin joined in as well, the three raced one another but Haru still won first, and Kiana clapped for him. He got out, was stopped by Sousuke, and he looked up at him.

"Don't touch her."

"She's not yours." Haru strode past him, Kiana knew what was said, she could tell just by Haru's response, so she got up, grabbed her beach bag, and was about to walk away until she felt Sousuke's hand on her shoulder. She turned around and the others watched with interest as she looked up at him, his hand was removed from her shoulder, and she patiently waited to see what he would say to her but she made sure to glare at him as much as she could.

He didn't speak so she did, "My Mom told me that Selkies should be protected because they're special and she said that to soothe the pain of my childhood." Kiana let it sink in, "I'm not some treasure that needs to be protected, I'm a person, and even if I don't believe that I deserve to be treasured; someone out there does." She took in a breath, "I'm not that high school girl anymore Sousuke, you don't need to walk me home any longer." Kiana turned around as he blinked a few times, apparently what she said had sunk in, and she sauntered away from him to the lockers. She murmured to herself, "I need to buy a scooter."

Gou looked up at him, he looked down at her since she cleared her throat, "She's right. She only wanted to help you with your regimen, was that so wrong of her to help a friend?"

"No."

"Then why?"

"Yuri used to make bentos."

"So?"

"I'm still not over Yuri."

This time Haru spoke up, "Then get over her." All eyes turned onto the quiet male, "Kiana needs a strong rock in her life otherwise she'll crumble." Apparently no one understood what he meant so he elaborated but only slightly, "She's only ever had herself then her parents and recently friends. You were there when she was in high school, she probably felt safe around you so she put you in a special place, and you're too caught up in a woman who only used you to realize that she's shed her seal coat." He disappeared into the locker room, Kiana emerged, waved to her friends, and left the club although she did wave to Sousuke only because she heard what Haru had told the detective.

On her way home, she sighed, her phone chimed, "It's from Haru." She opened it, "Here's the address, come by on your day off." A smile appeared on her lips, she texted in return, "I will, thank you." Kiana leaned back in the seat, her eyes drifted to the side, and again she felt rather than saw that woman's presence. Instead of getting off at her usual stop, she rode the bus a few miles out until that feeling disappeared, Kiana got off, and began walking but would dart between houses or take side paths if that feeling returned. She managed to make it inside without any further instance, she closed the door behind her, breathed out, and felt her face being squashed into a pair of breasts again. "Hi Mom."

"My little Selkie! How was work? How was the pool? Did Sousuke like his bento?" Kiana smiled, removed her shoes, placed her beach bag on the floor, removed her suit as well as the wet towel, and headed to the bathroom to hang dry it. When she returned, she began to tell her mother everything that happened that day from start to finish while she poured hot oolong tea for the two of them. "Oh my, he's a mess." She nodded, "But Haru sounds like a good person. You should go see him on your day off." She nodded again then stated that she wanted to purchase a scooter so she could get around town easier. "Really?" A nod, "That's great! I know just the place and luckily, your day off and mine are the same! So we can go to your friend's restaurant with the scooter."

"Sounds good."

Aoi was ecstatic and they talked about other things that didn't involve work which made her happy. She then told her what Haru had said about shedding her seal coat and she laughed, "He's a smart one that Haru! I like him already!" Kiana nodded, "So even he can see that Sousuke cares for you but he's just a big idiot." Another nod, "Do you like Sousuke? Everyone always talks about his feelings for you but no one ever asks you."

"Gou asked once but she didn't continue the conversation." Aoi made a motion for her to continue, "I'm bashful around him but lately I've been thinking that I've always had a crush on him since high school. He was the first person that told me my scars were neat and stuck up for me when someone said I was damaged." Aoi smiled softly at her adopted daughter, "I do care for him, I consider him a close friend, and one that makes me feel very upset when he's acting like this. It affects my ataxophobia."

"How so?"

"I think the office is going to be a mess tomorrow as well as myself."

"I see, so when he told you that he didn't want you to make bentos any more, your phobia had a reverse attack." She nodded, "I understand. That happens to me too especially when Akira gets drunk, which he doesn't do anymore." Kiana chuckled, "You know it's been a while since I've heard you laugh." Again, another chuckle, "I think Sousuke just needs to hear you laugh and then he might realize how he feels."

"I doubt it. He can't get over his ex."

"So?" Blue eyes looked into those gold rings, "Just bide your time and wait for him but you can't do anything about your ataxophobia so that could be a problem."

"I'll try to manage tomorrow, hopefully I won't be too violent."

"Well, even if you are, there are some of your colleagues that understand you." Kiana nodded, "Good! Now let's get started on this dinner! I want to make Irish stew!" Kiana laughed at her mother, the pair stood up, and entered the kitchen so that they could make it. Although during it, she made sure to tell her about her feelings and why she was home later than she should have been, and she wanted to let Aoi know to be careful in case that woman was back. "I know, Akira's looking into it, he's got his friends who are still in Interpol checking it out for him. I would hate to know that she's back and looking for you."

"I didn't feel fear though." Aoi looked at her as Kiana sliced the meat, "I felt rage as if I'm waiting for an opportunity to get my revenge for what she did to others and to me."

"I see. Well, in that case, I do hope she comes back just so you can kick her ass." Kiana looked at her mother, "I mean it. If anyone deserves revenge and be forgiven for it, it's you my Selkie." A smile crossed her rosy lips, it reached her eyes, and made them twinkle. "That's a smile I haven't seen in ages too. Well aren't I just the lucky one today!" Kiana laughed, "There we go!" After some silence, she added, "You're going to be fine Kiana. You're a very strong person even if you don't see it yourself. You may need a strong rock in your life but, right now, you're building a great foundation." Kiana nodded and they continued to cut the meat and vegetables together in happy silence until it was broken by Akira stating he was home. "Oh gosh." Kiana laughed again, Aoi leaned over, kissed her daughter on her temple, "See? You'll be fine."


	4. Vespa

**Disclaimer:** I do not own _Free! Iwatobi Swim Club_ or any of the characters portrayed in it, they belong to Koji Oji, I simply own the character named Kiana Hagano, some others thrown in, and that is all. This was inspired by a a spur of the moment idea (don't judge me XD ) so I hope you all enjoy it as much as I do writing it.

 **Chapter 4** \- Vespa

Things were scattered around the office, they weren't in their place, and long curly hair was frazzled so much that it was much fuller than other days. It simply poofed away from her face while she tried to focus on something, anything to keep the boredom, and her reverse panic away but she was failing miserably. There was a knock, "Come in." Gou peeked in to see the mess and asked what happened, "Sousuke. He hasn't apologized and this is what happens to me when someone I care about says something dumb."

"Has this ever happened before?"

"Only once."

"When?"

"When he left after he graduated and didn't bother to give me a way to contact him."

"How long did it last?"

"A month."

"I don't think I can live a week, much less a month, with a grumpy Kiana." The half-breed smirked, "Oooo! I like that! I'm going to talk to Sousuke now and see if I can't get him to apologize. You're lucky you did all your work yesterday." She nodded as Gou left, Kiana twirled a pencil in her hand, wanting to will this strangeness away but without Sousuke, it wouldn't disappear. She knew her father as having a blast since he was laughing in his office while watching her. The pencil was then placed between her teeth, she rolled it around, trying to mimic chewing on something but then removed it, and threw it across the room. It clattered to the floor, she pushed all of her pens onto the floor as well, then leaned back to watch them roll around.

Gou knocked on the detectives' door, they said to come in, and she entered; Rin greeted her and Sousuke nodded. She pointed to the taller brunette, "You."

"Me what?"

"You need to apologize to Kiana for saying what you did about her bento."

"Why?"

"She's a mess. Her office is a mess."

"That's not like her."

"It is when you do something dumb. She told me it's happened before, it looks like the reverse of her phobia."

"When did it happen before?" asked Rin.

"When chubby whaleshark over there left after graduation and didn't give her a way to contact him." Sousuke stared at Gou, her red eyes locked with him, "Go and fix this. I can't live a month with a grumpy Kiana so fix it."

"How?"

"Apologize."

"Why?"

Gou ran her hands through her hair and stated, "Haru's right you know. She _did_ put you in a special place, she's bashful around you, and I'm sure if she didn't feel safe around you then she wouldn't have let you walk her home." Teal eyes stared at his best friend's younger sister, she huffed, and added, "Kiana doesn't talk about her feelings because no one asks but Haru sensed it. He could tell and he's right."

"Right about what?"

"She's shed her seal coat and probably for you but if you don't want her then someone else will come along." Gou left it at that, she disappeared to return to her post, and Sousuke looked at Rin. The older brother nodded his affirmation or, at least, agreed with what his sister had said. Gou popped back in and stated, "Her hair looks like she's been electrified." Those were her final words as she disappeared down the hall, Sousuke sighed heavily, looked at Rin, and the other male held a grin on his face.

"Fine." Sousuke got up, left the office, and Rin was still grinning as he looked down at his paperwork. He approached the door, he knocked, her muffled voice said to come in, and he did. The door was closed behind him and he only stared at the pens strewn across the floor. Teal eyes watched her as she nudged them with the tip of her shoe, they rolled some more, "A typhoon hit?" She looked up at him, he stared at her hair, it was extremely curly, and frizzy. "What happened Freckles? Stick a fork in a wall socket?" She scrunched up her nose at him before turning her attention back to the pens since they were more entertaining, she nudged more of them. "May I sit?"

"Sure."

He took a seat in a nearby chair, "I'm sorry if I upset you." She shrugged, "I mean it. I could have been less blunt."

"You weren't blunt, I prefer blunt but you were vague."

"Sorry for being so vague." Kiana looked at him, "Yuri used to make bentos for me and the station knew, that's why I said not to make them." She nodded in understanding, "Gou told me that you only wanted to help." She nodded again, "Sorry I couldn't see it." Kiana shrugged and stated that she should have asked first, "I should have just said thanks and taken it." A chuckle escaped her, his eyes had been staring at the pens but they turned to look at her, she glanced away from him, "Forgive me?"

"Yep."

"Why so easily?"

She looked at him and smiled with her twinkling blue eyes, "Friends forgive one another for being stupid." He only stared at her, she got up, crouched on the floor, and began to pick up all the pens; he did the same. "You don't have to." He shrugged, she stared at him, and laughed; this snapped his attention onto her. The laugh that echoed around the office was light, carefree, almost whimsical, and Sousuke could only stare as it subsided since it was only the second time he'd heard her laugh. The office floor was cleaned up with his help as well as the table, she sighed happily, "Thank you."

"For what?"

"Walking me home all those days."

"I was happy to do it." She smiled up at him, he was by the door, paused, and looked over his shoulder at her. "You've always brightened my day, that's why I greeted you in the morning, and walked you home." Kiana stared at him, he opened the door, and replied, "Thank you for that Kiana." It closed, clicked into place, and she only stared with a red face as he had said her name for the first time in eleven years. Her hands covered her mouth and her heart fluttered irregularly in her chest so she took in deep breaths to calm herself.

The day passed by uneventfully, she grabbed her beach bag, and headed out but texted the others that she was already on her way to the pool. Kiana was smiling to herself, she had even texted Haru, and he returned it with a picture of him in his swimming trunks at the edge of the pool. She laughed on the bus, held her phone up, and snapped a picture of her on the bus. "Almost there!" He returned it with a thumbs up although she looked at the picture again, there was a blond male in the back, and she asked who that was. He stated that it was a friend, she took a picture of her giving a thumbs up, and send it to him. "Snap chatting is fun."

When she arrived, Haru was waiting for her, he looked at her, she gave a wave, and pointed to the locker room; he nodded. The blond male that was in the picture was in the water, he watched as Haru took a seat on the edge of the pool, "Who's that?" Asked the unknown blond.

"She's a friend. I'm teaching her to swim."

"You've always been a good at it."

"Sousuke was teaching her but he made her angry."

"Really? They work together?" He nodded, "Interesting. I hope I get to meet her!" Haru nodded, Kiana emerged with her bag in hand, set it on the bench, then proceeded to the water, she took a seat next to Haru, and noticed the male. "I'm Makoto Tachibana."

"Kiana Hagano."

"Nice to meet you. How do you know Haru and Gou?" She proceeded to explain in very little detail her situation as many parts weren't warranted such as Sousuke walking her home, or other bits. "Ah! Sounds exciting."

She shrugged, "What do you do?"

"I'm a fireman."

Her eyes softened, "It's a dangerous job. Thank you." He smiled brightly at her, his green eyes twinkling, and he asked what she was learning. "Haru's teaching me the front crawl." He nodded, suddenly she was pushed into the water, Kiana surfaced, turned around, and looked at Haru. His hand was raised, she pouted at him, "Not fair Haru."

"Do something." She took a deep breath, ducked under water, and grabbed his feet; of course he helped her pull him into the pool. Once he was in there, they stared at one another under the water before Kiana realized that she needed air. So she surfaced, coughed a bit, and looked as Haru followed suit without the coughing. "You're getting better. Do you practice anywhere else?"

"No. I think I just learn very quickly. I've always been good at learning new things." He stared at her with Makoto, "In school the only notes I took were chemistry and math, everything else was memorized." The blue-haired male nodded in understanding while Makoto grinned, "Is there anything new to teach me?"

"Laps." Kiana nodded and Haru guided her from one end of the pool to the other, he showed her how to flip, but she was confused by it. Makoto sat on the edge of the pool to watch, he was smiling, and then the others arrived.

"She beat us here!" cried Gou. Makoto looked up, "MAKOTO!"

"Hey Gou!" The magenta-haired woman hugged her friend, "Haru's teaching her how to flip. I wonder how she'll do when she learns how to dive." Gou agreed, she turned to the water to see Haru surface with Kiana shortly after, she wiped the water from her face, and looked to the other side of the pool. Kiana waved at her friends, they waved back, Gou shouted that she wanted her hair braided, the Irish woman nodded, and swam towards the other side with Haru following shortly after.

Makoto helped her out of the pool, she sat down, looked up at Gou, the woman was grinning, she could only raise an eyebrow at her friend, and stood up. The two women headed for the bench, Kiana stood in front of Gou while she took a seat, and began to work on her hair. Sousuke and Rin were finally able to see how it was done, and the other two males were equally astounded at the beauty of it. Just as Kiana finished pinning the second braid, she felt a presence behind her, "Beautiful." She looked over her shoulder to see Rei, "Hello again." Gou laughed, "Hey Gou. How are you?" At this point, Sousuke and Rin left to change so they could swim as well.

Kiana quickly backed away from the two only to bump into the chest of someone, she looked up, and saw Makoto. "You met Rei?" She nodded, "Did he unnerve you?" She nodded, "Sorry about that."

"I know. Sousuke told me."

"Well, don't be too hard on him okay?" Kiana nodded again, this time Makoto looked at the scales on her arm, "What happened here?" Upon closer inspection, his green eyes hardened at it, "Who would you burn you like that?"

Kiana moved away, "Someone who was not very kind to me as a child."

"Your parents?"

"No, someone unrelated." Makoto looked visibly concerned so she patted his arm, "I'm alright." Her phone rang, she looked at it, very perplexed as it never rang. Kiana walked to her bag, opened it up, grabbed her phone, and the two males from her work reappeared from the locker room. Both were curious as to why her phone was ringing, she picked it up, "Hagano." Kiana promptly plopped on the bench, her eyes focused on the ground before her, her breath came in short gasps, and Gou glanced over; concerned for her friend. "I...I...see." She closed her eyes to hold back the tears, not tears of sadness but tears of rage. "Thank you Dad. I'll tell Mom to be very careful outside the apartment. Tell your friends thank you for me." She gave a small smile with her eyes still closed, "Be safe." She hung up the phone, leaned over, and rested the corner of it on her forehead as her brow furrowed in deep thought.

"What is it?" asked Sousuke as he approached her.

She took in a deep breath, opened her eyes, replaced her phone, and looked up at Sousuke, "It's nothing. I'm fine." Teal eyes gave her that same intense stare but she stood up, he grabbed her arm gently, blue orbs stared but soon focused on those lagoons, "I'm alright." She patted his hand gently before heading to the pool, "Haru, can you teach me to dive?"

"I'd like to do that," stated Makoto happily.

"Not a chance Orca," came the teal-eyed detective's flat tone.

"Oh? Why's that?" He stayed silent, Makoto was still confused, "Kiana, do you want Sousuke or me to teach you how to dive?" She shrugged, "Alright, come on!" She stood on the mounting block, "How do you know how to do that?"

"I saw Rin and Sousuke race then I saw them race with Seijuro and Haru." He nodded enthusiastically and began to show her the proper position for diving. In the meantime, Sousuke clenched his jaw and Rin only patted him on the shoulder with a grin on his face. She was taking her lessons very well with the proper form for diving however the act of diving itself was the one thing that she had trouble with. Kiana couldn't bring herself to physically dive into the pool, so she sat on the edge, and sighed. "I'm sorry Makoto."

"It's alright. It takes time." She nodded, her mind was still on the phone conversation, and she had a hunch that it was going to happen again. Kiana stared into that still surface, ripples crossed over it, and she faintly heard sounds of splashing; people swimming. All the things she ever wanted to do as a child were now within her grasp but she wasn't that hateful child, she grew into a vengeful woman, and that vengeance could become a possibility. "Something wrong?"

"I'm fine." Her eyes were still staring into the pool, she saw Haru's face staring up at her, "Huh?" He reached up, the others watched as she was pulled into the water, and she didn't say a word. The liquid enveloped her body, she was underwater, her eyes opened, and she stared at Haru; he stared back. The male didn't say a single word to her but conveyed his concern in a different way, she smiled at him, and broke the surface. He followed soon after, "That wasn't very nice Haru." He continued to stare at her, she splashed him with water, a blank stare, and he splashed back.

The swimming lessons turned into a cat and mouse game in the water, Makoto joined in as did Rin which wasn't fair to Kiana since she couldn't swim as fast as them but she was more agile. What surprised the others most of all was when she dodged Rin, she was grabbed from behind, and her back hit a solid chest. "Eh?!" She leaned over to the side see who had captured her and she recognized those teal lagoons, amusement was glinting them even though his face said otherwise. She pouted, "That's not fair."

"You're more open...it's a nice change because you didn't have any friends back then." She smiled since his voice was quiet, "You've matured, it's good to see." That smile still stayed on her face, "If something's bothering you then tell me. I'll be there to listen." Kiana nodded before taking a deep breath, and sliding out of his grasp. He blinked a few times until he felt a push from behind, he looked over his shoulder, and Kiana was there; smirking. She did her best to dive away but he was much more quick, he grabbed her foot, instead of fighting back, she let herself be dragged through the water, and Rin was grinning. Haru had watched, the males looked at one another, and nodded; even they could see that Sousuke was finally beginning to understand.

The day winded down, she exited the locker room, she sighed happily, stretched her arms above her body, and stifled a yawn. She shook her head, removed her phone, and texted her mother that she was leaving the club and to be safe. "You're getting better at swimming." Kiana looked up to see Rin, she stated that she had the best teachers, "I bet." He grinned at her, she raised an eyebrow at him, and he continued, "You know, we're your friends so if you need anything, don't hesitate to tell us. We'll be there for you."

"I know but I'm fine. Tomorrow's my day off."

"What are you going to do?"

"Get transportation."

"You're going to buy a car?!"

"No, a scooter."

"What if it rains?"

"I'll take the bus or use a raincoat and rain boots."

"Snow?"

"Wear lots of coats."

"Typhoon?"

"Stay at home."

"Tsunami?"

"I know how to swim now." Rin stared at her and laughed, the others emerged, and were wondering what was going on but she turned to Haru, "I'll see you tomorrow Haru." He nodded, "Bye everyone." She waved to them, Sousuke watched her walk away, and ran a hand through his hair.

"You're so damn obvious," stated Rin.

"Am I?"

"You finally realize what you're doing?"

"Yeah, sort of."

"Good. So you know that you're flirting with her."

"Yeah."

Haru chimed in, "Are you over Yuri?"

"Not yet."

"You better hurry." Rin had asked him why and Haru replied simply, "Because I'll take her." Sousuke glared at the blue-haired male, Haru only stared up at him, "You're slow even out of the water." With that he left a dumbfounded Sousuke and a flabbergasted Rin, he took a different direction to get home; the exact opposite of Kiana.

-::::::-

"THIS IS THE PLACE!" It was early morning and Kiana was with Aoi standing outside a scooter shop, blue eyes stared at the various ones, and she couldn't decide what to look at first. "You're getting the best scooter!"

"Why?"

"Because you deserve it and you can afford it. He's also the mechanic so let's go inside!" Kiana smiled, followed Aoi inside the shop, and began to browse the different scooters. There were so many types, styles, two-seaters, side-cars, dual headlights, and various other things. Kiana wanted something simple so they walked around at her pace, greeted the clerk, and continued around. She was searching for something in particular but she wasn't sure what it was at first. "We'll find one, don't worry."

She nodded, suddenly she spotted something, it was in the corner but it stood out because of the color: baby blue. Her eyes widened, she quickly walked up to it, the two seats were wrapped in tan leather, the spare tire on the back, and the simplicity in the design had her drawn to it. "This one. I want this one." Aoi walked up to her and nodded, "It's perfect."

"I agree," the two women looked at the male. "It's not often that I see young people interested in vintage scooters. This one's a classic Vespa." Kiana nodded, "Go on, have a seat to make sure its comfortable." She did, she sat in the driver seat, gripped the handles, and nodded, "I'm glad someone appreciates it. It's come back a few times because people don't like it when they take it out. Too rough."

"That's alright."

"Well, anything else you want while you're here?"

Kiana shook her head, "Just this Vespa."

"Great! I'm also the mechanic so if you need something fixed then come on back here or give me a call. I'll give you my card after the purchase is complete and I'll give you a full tank of gas to start off with!"

"Thank you very much." He grinned and walked away, Aoi was ecstatic but she could tell that Kiana was even more, "I need a seal sticker for the front." Her mother laughed as Kiana dismounted the scooter, followed after the man, and she paused at the counter as he drew up the forms. She filled them out, he complimented her handwriting, "Thank you." He asked her what she did for a living, "Criminal forensic at Iwatobi Station." He nodded with a smile, Aoi was ecstatic about it, once everything was finished, she handed over the money, he gave her the receipt and his card, and headed to the back to get the scooter prepped for her.

"I'm so excited! Where do want to take it first?"

Kiana smirked, "Are you hungry? It's almost lunch."

"Yeah why?"

"We can visit Haru." Aoi was nearly jumping at the thought of taking the scooter to visit the restaurant of her daughter's friend, once the male came back, he said to wait outside, and they nodded. Kiana texted Haru, "I'll be there soon." She received a thumbs up in return, she smiled, replaced her phone, and her mother said that she smiled more. "I have true friends, ones that don't care, just like you said."

"I'm glad honey."

"Alright ladies! It's all set for you two!"

"Thank you very much," replied Kiana. He nodded, handed the keys over, and explained how it worked. "Okay, I got it. Thank you again." He waved to them as he headed back inside the store, Kiana got on, kicked up the stand, and motioned for her mother to get on. The older woman was having far too much fun, she hopped on, and waited as Kiana started it up. It was rocky at first but she got the hang of it, soon enough they were zipping through the streets of Iwatobi, just cruising around, and having fun.

Eventually they arrived at the restaurant, the windows were large so you could see inside, Haru was at the cook station, and he glanced over when he heard a noise. A baby blue Vespa was parked out there, he recognized that crazy hair even if it was braided, and watched as the two women entered. "Hi Haru, how are you?" He nodded to show that he was fine, "This is my mother Aoi Yamamoto." He nodded to her, she nodded to him, they sat at the counter, and he looked at the scooter. "I bought it today so I can get around easier."

"It suits you."

She smiled, "I want to get a seal sticker to put on the front."

"It would match." Aoi was smiling, they looked over the menus, and ordered tea; her mother was more indecisive about what to get so she ordered the beef bowl while Kiana ordered the mackerel surprise. His lips curled very slightly at the corner, "Excellent choice."

The door burst open and a loud voice yelled, "HARU! I'M HERE!" Kiana looked and the blond male gasped, "KIANA!" He ran to her and gave her a hug, she chuckled at his antics, "What are you doing here? How do you know Haru?"

"Hi Nagisa. Gou asked Haru to teach me to swim and he gave me the address for his restaurant." Aoi watched with quiet amusement at her daughter's friend, she enjoyed her adopted daughter very much but was always concerned she didn't have any friends, but now that she was a grown woman; they were falling into her lap left and right. Aoi sipped her tea while Kiana talked with Nagisa, she pointed to the blue Vespa, "That's mine. I got it today."

"Oh! It's so cute but why did you get a blue one?"

"I want to put a seal sticker on the front, like a Selkie."

Nagisa looked from the scooter to her and gave a wide grin, "I heard about that legend. IT'S PERFECT!" Kiana nodded, introduced her mother, and he smiled. "It's nice to meet you! You're daughter is one of the few people who can understand me when I talk quickly." Aoi laughed and said that one day he'd have to listen to a drunk Irish person talk. "I'll look it up on the internet when I get home."

Kiana paused, "Nagisa?" He looked at her, "You said that you came back from Fiji that one time." He nodded, "Are you a travel agent?" He nodded, "Do you write articles about your trips?" He nodded and she smiled, "Can I have the magazine or website? I'd like to read them."

"Why?"

"You're very enthusiastic and love your job, I can only imagine that your personality will be reflected in your writing." He grinned, gave her the magazine name, and she smiled, "Thanks. I'll have a look at it and maybe convince my parents to take a trip sometime."

"Why?" Aoi leaned over and asked. "You got a man coming over or something?" Her tone was laced with mock anger but the humor couldn't be hid.

"Yes, me." The three looked at Haru as he had made a joke while he cooked their food, Kiana chuckled while Aoi and Nagisa guffawed their laughter in the quiet restaurant. There was a small smile on the free-style swimmer's face, "But not without permission."

"Haru you're welcome to come over _anytime_ ," replied the Chief's wife. Kiana stared at her mother, "I like you and I trust you so you can come over when we're not around but Sousuke is a no-no. He's on probation until I say otherwise." Kiana chuckled and said that Akira works too much and that the two of them deserve a nice vacation. "You're right. You're so caring my little girl!" Aoi hugged her, she returned it, and their food arrived.

"You got the Mackerel Surprise?! That's Haru's favorite dish and his specialty!"

Kiana smiled, thanked him, and began to eat, "It's really good! I love all types of seafood except octopus." Aoi smiled and stated that her beef bowl was excellent, the three of them ate together, and conversed about different parts of the world but Nagisa was more interested in Ireland. Haru was listening to them talk, he enjoyed being around Kiana because she appeared to be an open book but he realized that she only revealed the pages that she wanted people to read, and he knew there was something else there; hidden deep between the pages.

They finished lunch, Aoi waved to Haru as did Kiana, Nagisa waited for them outside, and the blue-haired male waved in return. He watched them converse, Aoi said that she would take the bus home so that she could start on dinner and Nagisa wanted to go to the mall which was fine with Kiana since she wanted to get that sticker. Aoi grinned, "Kiana take Nagisa to the mall on the Vespa. I bet it wants to be driven all over town!" Kiana smiled, nodded, "Don't forget to find that seal sticker!" She nodded again and made sure her mother go on the bus but not before the older woman said that she'd text when she got home.

"Let's go!" exclaimed Nagisa. Kiana chuckled, got on, he hopped on behind, and they drove off; Haru watched them go and could only think that Sousuke was an idiot for continuing to pine after Yuri. The energetic blond male was ecstatic to be riding on a scooter, they zipped through Iwatobi, and eventually came to the mall. He got off first, watched as she put the stand down, and hopped off as well while placing the keys in her bag. "That was so much fun!" Kiana nodded, the pair walked towards the mall, she pulled her braid over her left side to hide the marks, and Nagisa gave a soft smile. "It doesn't bother me you know." She looked at him, "Your burns."

"I know and thank you for that but it's not for you though." He blinked a few times then noticed the children running around, he smiled warmly at her, and stated that she had a big heart. She shrugged and he laughed, "People tell me all sorts of things about myself." Nagisa grabbed her hand and the pair dashed off towards a random store inside; she chuckled once there. The reason the blond dashed off was because he spotted someone very familiar hanging out in the swimsuit store.

"RINRIN!"

"Oh god!" Blanched the targeted male, "I told you to stop calling me that!" Wavy blond hair bobbed back and forth as he rocked on his feet with a big grin on his face. "Why are you here?"

"I came with a friend to do some shopping."

"Uh-huh." He pointed to Kiana as she walked up, "Kiana?" She waved, "It's your day off. I thought you went to get a scooter."

"I did. My mother and I went, I bought one, and we went to visit Haru at his restaurant. Nagisa popped in shortly after."

"Where's your mother?"

"She went home, said that she had some cooking to do." Her phone chimed, she pulled it out, read the text, and messaged back. "She's home now so it's okay. Nagisa wanted to go to the mall and so did I so my Mom thought it would be good to take the scooter out."

"She was right." Kiana nodded, "I'm here with Sousuke." She smirked at him, as if to say that where ever he was, the whaleshark was sure to follow. Rin laughed, "Koari's here too!" Rin looked down towards a section and called out, "KOARI! COME MEET HER!"

Suddenly there was woman striding towards her from an aisle, she had dark brown hair that came to her shoulders, and her fringe was held to the side by a barrette. Her hazel eyes focused on Kiana, "Hello. I'm Koari Takanaka."

"Kiana Hagano."

The other woman smiled, "So you're 'the target.'" Kiana tilted her head in curiosity, "Well, that's how Rin tells me about you when Sousuke's around. It's nice to meet you, officially. I'm back in town so I'll be sure swim with you."

"Thank you."

"I hear you're pretty good." She shrugged and Koari laughed, "Modest too! I like that!" She was grinning, Kiana felt that everyone she was meeting along the way was always smiling, and it unnerved her a bit but she was able to get used to it. However, she paused, and stared down at the back of her hand where the snake scales were. She had an epiphany and she finally realized something that had to do with the man whom she had inadvertently called chubby as well as the one who was teaching her the front crawl. Rin waved a hand in front of her face, Koari grinned, "Kiana's had an epiphany!"

The half-Irish woman blinked, looked at Koari, and nodded numbly, "I should get a different swim suit. Red's too flashy." She went to move away but found an arm around hers, "Koari?"

"Come on! I'll help you pick one out!" The two women wandered off just as Sousuke turned the corner, he stared at Kiana, she was wearing jean shorts that came to mid-thigh, flats, and a pink short-sleeved shirt that stopped around two inches above the hem of her shorts.

"Koari likes her," stated Rin. Nagisa grinned with the magenta-haired male as the three watched Koari pick out competition swim suits for her but, ultimately, she declined any of them since they were two-pieces. The chocolate-haired woman gave a mock pout, asked why, and Kiana showed the back of her hand; the opposite woman proudly stated that she didn't care. Eventually Kiana eased off and allowed the chocolate-haired woman to show her more two-piece suits, namely ones that had shorts for a bottom, and a racerback top.

"Nagisa, did you come with her?" asked Sousuke.

"Yep! I bumped into her and her mom at Haru's restaurant. I said I wanted to go to the mall and she volunteered to drive me since we're looking for something."

"What would that be?"

"A seal sticker."

"Why?"

"Ask her." Sousuke watched her go to the counter with Kaori, they purchased their suits separately, and the chocolate-haired woman was grinning. "Hey Rin?" He acknowledged his travel agent friend, "Has Koari liked any woman before? Other than Gou?" Rin replied with a negative and Nagisa smiled brightly, "You need to get over Yuri, Sou otherwise Haru's going to claim her."

"Why does everyone keep saying that?"

Nagisa turned his eyes onto the tall male, "Because she clearly likes you. Can't you see it?" Sousuke only stared at him while Rin stated that he was oblivious, he shrugged, "It'll be your loss if she chooses someone else."

"Who else would she choose?" asked Rin.

"The Dolphin. He's different around her, I can tell, he watches her a lot just like Sou but it's not a definitive answer just yet. I'll need more time to see the interaction. Maybe tomorrow!" Sousuke had been standing right there with them but listened intently to the more energetic male, the two women returned to them, and Nagisa grinned. "Show me! Show me!" Kiana folded her bag, placed it in her field purse, and promptly closed the flap. "Awww! Do I get to see it tomorrow?" She smiled, nodded, and he hooted with joy. "Come on, come on! We have to get that seal sticker!"

Koari was perplexed but Nagisa winked at her so she said she wanted to tag along, Rin nodded, and looked at Sousuke, he shrugged his shoulders, and the duo turned into five. Sousuke kept a close eye on Kiana, she saw many seal stickers but none of them jumped out her, and they were getting ready to leave another store but she paused. It was hidden on the side of the rack but she had seen it, immediately she took it, and headed to the register. It was purchased, the others wanted to know what it looked like but she could only smile at them, and as they were walking through the mall; she felt a pat on the top of her head. Blue eyes looked up to see those teal lagoons staring down at her, her face blushed, and he leaned down.

"You never told me why you blush when I look at you." Kiana bit her lower lip, continued to keep her eyes averted from him to focus on the ground, and he asked quietly again, "Why?"

Her voice was a mere whisper, "I feel safe when I'm around you." He pulled away from her, startled by her words, but they kept their pace with the others, and she had her eyes on the ground. They reached outside, Nagisa ran to the Vespa, she smiled at him, and Rin nodded in approval while Koari was grinning. Kiana left his side, she knelt down, removed the sticker, and peeled it off; it was placed on the front in the center. When she moved aside, Sousuke felt his lips curl into a smirk, it was the exact same seal that was on her coffee mug. Nagisa was praising it with Koari but she asked her about it and Rin explained the story of the Irish Mermaid.

Sousuke approached her from behind, leaned down, and whispered, "It suits you." She looked at him from the corner of her eye, "Tell me, why do you feel safe around me?" Kiana huffed and promised to text him later, "Sure. I'll be waiting Freckles." She offered a ride to Nagisa but he declined, stated that he'd hitch one with Rin, the magenta-haired male laughed, she smiled, and nodded then thanked them for hanging out with her. All of them stared at her, "You're still not used to having friends." She shook her head, "In time." She nodded, waved to them, got on her scooter, started it, and kicked the stand up. One more wave and she was zipping off with her braid flying out behind her like a flag.

"Sousuke," sang Koari. He looked at her, "Ask her out!" He only continued to stare at her as she grinned, "I like her. She's brings out an interesting side of you that I've never seen and it's positively _adorable_!"

"What are you babbling about?"

"You don't see it?" Again he stared at her and she gave an exasperated sigh, "Man you're really oblivious." Koari continued, "When we were shopping for swimsuits she told me something rather interesting, it was very vague but I understood what she was trying to convey." That was the last thing that was said as they all parted ways and left a confused Sousuke standing there to walk through the parking lot alone to his car while mulling over what had been said to him.

Kiana greeted her mother, she was smushed into those breasts again, she laughed, and said that she was going to shower. Aoi shooed her away, she entered her room, placed everything in its proper place, and grabbed her pajamas. They were dark red plaid pants with a pink camisole top with a printed little bear on it that revealed an ample amount of cleavage that she didn't know it showed. Once in the shower, she took her time, washed her hair thoroughly, exited, dried off, and dressed in her pajamas. Kiana sat cross-legged on her bed, she held up her phone, the camera was held high, and she put up a peace sign before snapping a picture and sending it to Sousuke with a simple tagline that read: Ready or not, here goes.

A text came later from him, "You should watch how you take a picture." She raised an eyebrow at it, looked at the picture she had sent him, and blushed profusely. Kiana sent him a text, "Shut up!" He returned it with a laughing emoticon, so she wrote to him, "Okay Chubby." Once it was sent, she dialed his number, and when he answered she began to speak immediately. "I feel safe around you because you're not out going like the others. You're reserved which makes you observant and that's what makes me feel safe around you." He gave her a simple response, she took in a breath, "Haru was right, you know."

 _"About what?"_

"I _do_ hold you in a special place."

 _"Why?"_

She gave a soft smile, "Because you were the only person who ever stuck up for me when I was being teased about my scars."

 _"That was a long time ago."_

"And I remember it like it was yesterday. I remember those days very vividly because you were there. Just as you said that I brightened your day so, too, did you do to mine." He was silent for a little bit before he said that he had to go, "Okay." There was a momentary pause, "Hey Sousuke?"

 _"Yeah?"_

"...it's nothing."

 _"Are you sure?"_

"Yes. Goodnight, see you tomorrow." He replied the same to her, she ended the call then laid back on her bed so she could stare up at the ceiling. "It's hard to admit it but even harder to say it." She sighed, "At least he knows a little bit." Aoi called through the house to state that dinner was almost ready, she sat up, pulled on a green tee-shirt, and exited her room while leaving her phone on the nightstand.

-::::::-

Blue eyes stared at herself in the reflection of the locker room mirrors, the burns were revealed as she wore her two-piece swim suit. The entirety of her left arm she had gotten used to but the back was now exposed along with her side and she was anxious about it so she took extra time organizing her bag. The towel was wrapped around her body, she walked out of the locker room, sat her bag on the bench, and took a seat next to it. Gou appeared, Kiana was grateful for the distraction, she braided her hair, and Koari said it was so cute. "Thank you. I have to do mine too." Kiana separated her hair, the two women watched as she wrapped up her own hair, pinned it, then pulled on Sousuke's swim cap. Some strands still escaped the cap but she was glad most of it was protected. Pink goggles sat around her neck, Koari asked her about the towel, and she revealed her left arm. "It's more than just my arm which is why I didn't want a two-piece."

"It's alright. We don't care and you shouldn't care either. It's not gross or anything like some others I've seen. In fact, they look like fish scales!" exclaimed the brown haired woman, Kiana gave a small smile, Gou agreed with her, so she took in a deep breath, and waited for the boys to disappear into the locker room. "Quick, now's your chance! Gou will dive from the block first then me and you follow suit! Rin's told me that you're bashful about it but just go with the flow." Kiana was anxious again but Koari grinned, "You're a Selkie so dive like one!"

She was pulled to her feet, Gou and Koari removed the towel, and dashed towards the diving blocks. Kiana felt the adrenaline, she smiled happily, and trailed after them; Gou dove first then Koari, and both women broke the surface to watch her. Kiana mounted then dove straight into the water without a moment's hesitation because she had heard footsteps entering from the locker room. Water sluiced over her body, hands parted the water, and she swam to the other side of the pool where her two female friends were waiting for her. Kiana broke the surface, she looked at the other two, they praised her, and the moment was ruined when Nagisa performed a canon ball near them. The water splashed on them, the half-Irish woman laughed when he broke the surface, they stared at her, and she gazed at the surface of the water to avoid any further embarrassment.

"You're laugh is beautiful Kiana!" exclaimed the wavy-haired male. She rubbed the back of her head in embarrassment, "I wanna see your swim suit!" He ducked under water and Kiana tried to swim away but he pulled her underneath the water. His eyes looked at the burns on her body, she moved to cover them up until she felt another set of hands stop them. Nagisa stared at the newcomer, Kiana looked to the side, and realized it was Haru; he shook his head.

They broke the surface, Haru looked at her, "It doesn't matter to us." Kiana stared at him, she smiled, it made her eyes twinkle, and Nagisa hugged her. She returned the embrace, "Come on. Let's race."

"Sure!"

"You don't have to dive."

Kiana smirked, "I can dive thanks to Koari." Gou and the brown haired woman hooted as they swam towards the other side to meet with the rest of the swimmers. Kiana pulled herself out of the water, stood up, and mounted the diving block, Gou was next to her, and Koari on the other side. The other two were smiling at her, she returned that infectious smile but she didn't realize that Sousuke was standing behind her, staring at the scars that trailed over her newly exposed skin.

"Kiana!" She turned to see Makoto, a wave was greeted to him, "So you're going to dive?" She nodded, "Great! Let's all race!"

"But we're not as strong as you!" complained Gou.

"Who cares? It's just for fun!" piped in Nagisa.

"We're only missing Rei," stated Koari.

"Who's missing?" They looked at the voice, Rei was standing there in his swimsuit, he was smiling at them, "If we're racing then it's a good thing I bumped into someone on the way here."

"GOU!"

"SEIJURO!" Kiana stared at them as they hugged one another, she wore a soft smile but Koari noticed it wasn't loving. Just observant, so she said Kiana's name quietly, in order to get her attention; the woman looked at her new friend. She mouthed her question to her about ever having a boyfriend and Kiana shook her head.

"WHAT?!" This prompted everyone to look at the two women, "You're serious?!" Kiana nodded, "How is that even possible?" She gave her trademark shrug and Koari laughed, "So you're holding out."

"Maybe."

Koari gawked at her, Kiana blushed, looked away, and she grinned, "Look at all your freckles! I love it!" She muttered a simple 'shut up' which made the brunette even more bold, "Okay, here's a proposition for you Kiana." Blue eyes looked at those hazel ones, " _If_ you can keep up with me, not beat me but keep up then I'll keep it a secret."

"If I can't?"

"I'm telling everyone here." She mulled it over and nodded, "You won't back out right?" She shook her head, "Great! Let's go! We're doing the front crawl so I hope you're ready."

"I haven't had much practice but I'll do my best." Rin and Haru mounted as well because they wanted to join in, so Rin was next to Koari and Haru next to Kiana. She took in a few breaths, closed her eyes to ready herself, and Haru watched her closely as did Sousuke. When those blue rings opened, they were glowing with determination, she pulled up her pink goggles, and took her position. Gou was behind them, she shouted for them to ready themselves then yelled the magic word of 'go!'

Kiana dove into the water, Makoto was proud that she could do it with the proper form that he had taught her, she left her body go through the motions that Haru had taught her, she reached the far wall, flipped, and pushed off once more. The scars on her back were more prominent now, the spectators were astonished at how far they went across her back and side but it was all forgotten as her hand slapped the wall. Her head breached the surface, gasping for breath, and she pulled the goggles down to look at Koari. The woman was already out of the water and wore a grin that said she had won, Kiana shrugged, and was helped out of the pool by Nagisa.

"You did really good," said Seijuro. She smiled her thanks as she tried to catch her breath, "You were still way behind the others but you did good for a beginner." Kiana was huffing for breath, the racerback top was being stretched, and it was then that Koari leaned over to look at her.

"Kiana?" The curly haired woman stared at those hazel eyes, "Why are your curves so soft? You're not trim like the rest of us." Kiana's face turned the darkest shade of red anyone had ever seen, she immediately covered her face with her hands, and she chuckled. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean it in a bad way!"

She spread her fingers apart a little, "It's okay."

"Are you sure?" Kiana nodded, Koari sighed, "Good. I would hate to lose your friendship so soon after I met you. I really like you. Let's trade numbers!" Her face was still red, she felt arms around her shoulders, she brought her hands down to see that it was Nagisa who had embraced her from behind, and that blush faded away. Koari told her number to her new friend, Kiana said she'd text her later, "Great!" For a few minutes she was quiet, "Nagi...why are you holding her like that?"

"Comfort."

Kiana patted his arms, he released her, and she stood up; her feet brought her to the bench and she took a seat to catch her breath. Minutes passed, Sousuke sat next to her so that his right shoulder was near her, she looked at him, "I didn't know they were that bad." She shrugged, "You don't care?"

"Mom said that true friends won't care about them." He nodded, "Does your shoulder hurt?" Sousuke stayed silent, "May I?" The teal-eyed detective realized that she was asking because of what happened with the bento, he nodded, and she at on her knees on the bench. Her hands touched the shoulder gently at first before moving more forcefully in slow circles. Rin nudged Haru, they looked at Sousuke, he had his left hand over his mouth again, trying to stifle the moans that wanted to force their way out of his throat.

"He's an idiot," stated Haru quietly.

"Yep."

"I can fix it."

"How?" Rin looked at his friend, there was the faintest hint of a smirk on his face, and the magenta-haired male grinned. "What have you got planned Haru?" Silence, "If anyone can help these two, it's you."

"Sousuke still pines after Yuri."

"I know, it's pissing me off."

"Do you know why?"

Red eyes locked with blue ones, "I honestly have no idea but I'm going to ask him." Haru nodded, they watched as Kiana stopped her movements, left him to sit there alone, and returned to the pool. She mounted the diving block, Makoto patted her arm, she looked at him, and he mounted the bar in the water. He explained to her it was the backstroke, she nodded, and climbed into the water; this prompted the others to look at her.

"I want to try." Immediately Seijuro jumped in next to her, Koari was laughing at their antics, and she smiled warmly at the two. Both of them were teaching her, she eventually got the hang of holding on to the bar but launching was a completely different story. Kiana managed to do a poor imitation of Seijuro's but she breached the surface on the other side, and chuckled. "There are so many to learn but I don't think I'm strong enough for any of them." Makoto told her that she was doing fine, she smiled at him, and nodded as she tried again.


	5. Merry-Go-Round

**Disclaimer:** I do not own _Free! Iwatobi Swim Club_ or any of the characters portrayed in it, they belong to Koji Oji, I simply own the character named Kiana Hagano, some others thrown in, and that is all. This was inspired by a a spur of the moment idea (don't judge me XD ) so I hope you all enjoy it as much as I do writing it.

 **Chapter 5** \- Merry-Go-Round

Lavender eyes watched the fiery-haired woman work, her hair was styled into a messy bun, she peeled off the special plastic that captured the fingerprint, and packaged it away. Her eyes slowly gazed over the cabinet one more time before she decided to actually pull it open more, a gloved finger moved it gently, to make sure that she didn't miss anything, and glanced around the inside of the cabinet. Some chemicals were missing, she found one that was knocked over, and picked it up. Dust was placed on it, another fingerprint, she took that one too, and put the bottle back in its place. The little evidence bags were filed away into her satchel, she continued to roam her eyes over the broken cabinet very carefully.

"She's really analyzing it," stated Rei.

"Yep, that's why she's the best," gloated Rin.

"Is she always like this at work?" Rin nodded, "It's impressive. I've never seen any forensic this thorough, she's making sure to get everything."

"Ever since Kiana came to the station, our jobs have been much easier, she can see things that others miss, find the invisible threads, and gather the proper evidence so that an innocent person doesn't get put away. If she's even remotely unsettled by something, she'll take her time and go over it again and again until she's positive there's nothing amiss."

"Impressive." Kiana squatted on the floor, blue eyes gently caressed the broken glass until something caught her eye, a small drop, so tiny but noticeable on the white floor. A swab was removed from her satchel, she dabbed it lightly to get all of it, then placed it in a clear container, the lid was shut, and nestled in her bag. The forensic got up, picked up her satchel, and followed the broken glass; hoping to find something else. As the others were packing up, she found it, a stray eyelash, so she plucked it with tweezers, put it in a tube, and safely tucked it away with the other evidence. "Did you find something good?"

"Yes and once I return to the lab then I can analyze it more thoroughly."

"Thank you Kiana."

"It's my job. I'll be outside waiting." She made sure to flash a small smile before she left, being very careful not to disturb the crime scene, Sousuke approached the two, and Rei stared at him.

"What?"

"Sousuke, I've been meaning to ask you something."

"Okay."

"Why are you waiting for Yuri to take you back? Why do you still text her if she broke up with you? Why do you do this if you're flirting with Kiana?"

"Who told you that I still text her?"

"I'm not saying who."

"I don't text her anymore, haven't for a while now."

"So why is she still on your mind?"

"I don't know."

"Yes you do," stated Rin.

"Can we not do this here?"

Rei sighed, "Fine but at least tell me why you still want to get back together with Yuri."

"She understood me. She understood the pain in my shoulder and she helped to heal that."

The other butterfly swimmer said, "All she did was make you go see a massage therapist."

"And all you ever did was complain about how much she went out partying and hanging out with other guys," stated Rin.

"Yeah but she always made me feel good about myself."

"Kiana will do better than that...she _already_ does more than that. She'll make personal time for you, help you with your shoulder, _and_ be there when you need her to be there," replied Rei.

"Why is everyone telling me these things? Why do you guys want us to get together so badly? It's like some group fantasy to see the two of us as a couple."

Rin sighed and said very quietly, "Because you've liked her since high school." Sousuke stared at his best friend, "I saw you leave the dorm room every morning so that you could wave to her and you came to practice barely on time because of those extra six miles." He paused, "But your times were much better." Sousuke's eyes widened just barely, "I didn't want to tell you but your times were better by a few seconds the moment you started walking her home and greeting her in the morning." There was another pause, "Look, Koari told me that Kiana's never had a boyfriend so she's never been kissed, and she doesn't know what love really is but I think she's learning about it by interacting with you because she's always watching you with gentle eyes. You may miss that wild Yuri but Kiana's more than perfect for you. The moment that she showed up at the station you've been protecting her and she's been your guiding light. Yuri broke up with you that day, right before we entered the station, and you weren't upset. You told me it was because she brightened your day so what the hell is all that mumbo-jumbo if you don't like her?"

"Are you, at least, attracted to her?" asked the other butterfly swimmer. Sousuke nodded, "So what's the problem?" He looked away and Rei realized what it was, "You need to forget what Yuri said, you're not damaged and you're not psychotic. Maybe a bit possessive but who cares? You just need to find the right woman that will understand that."

"I suppose."

"So if she brightens your day and you flirt with her, how is it that you don't see her in a romantic light?"

Sousuke stared into those red rimmed glasses, "I just want to keep her safe."

"You want to protect a treasure you found. She's not a treasure Whaleshark."

"I know."

"One day you'll realize it but hopefully it won't be too late." Rei pushed his glasses up and his voice became louder, "Thanks for the work detectives. I look forward to hearing from you." They nodded and left, Kiana had been standing outside waiting for them, and her mind wandered to many thoughts but mainly the one where her Dad had told her about Madame Snake.

"Tch," she grumbled. The detectives walked to their car, she wasn't far behind them, and they returned to the station. However she stopped to stare at her office, it was a mess, pens and papers were strewn everywhere, and she felt her heart begin to quicken. Kiana tried to calm herself down, she heard laughter near her, Tsutomu was leaning against the wall with a woman on his arm; she had long hair that was dyed blond and wore false blue contacts. They were standing there, laughing at her, and Sousuke paused with Rin.

"Yuri," he said flatly.

"Hi Sousuke, I hope you don't mind me dating little cutie pie Tsutomu here!"

"What are you doing here?"

"Visiting my honey bun while he's on break, what's it look like?" Kiana's eye twitched, Sousuke glanced down at her, and Rin watched closely as well. "How are you Rin?" He shrugged, "Koari?" He shrugged again, "Man, you aren't very social to me anymore."

"Why would I be? You broke up with my best friend through a text message without stating why."

"I did. He's possessive and damaged and I don't like that. I thought we agreed on an open relationship Sousuke."

"I didn't but you did whatever you wanted anyway."

"Because that's just how I am! I love my body and I want to share it with everyone unlike you."

Before any more retorts could be made, a voice asked,"Are you two responsible for destroying my office?" Everyone's eyes landed on Kiana, Yuri and Tsutomu only laughed, "Hmph." The satchel was set on the counter in her office, she returned quickly to glare at the two, and Sousuke watched with interest as did Rin since the two in question didn't realize that she was wrapping a leather strap around her left set of knuckles. "Why?" The only response she received was laughter from both of them, her jaw was set, and she approached both of them. Yuri taunted her, asking her what a little scientist could do, and Kiana reached her hand up without thinking. Her mind went blank, her right hand wrapped around the other's hair, and she yanked on it so hard that Yuri was pulled out of the other officer's grasp. Tsutomu gasped, Yuri squealed in pain, and Kiana only yanked her harder until she fell to the ground with a loud thud. Her voice was low and dangerous, authoritative as she kneeled down, "You think that you can just waltz in here and start to turn people's lives upside down for fun?"

"It's what I do best honey," sneered Yuri.

"Let's get this straight you inconsiderate sperm bank," Rin and Sousuke gave involuntary snickers at the name as she continued, "I'm not 'honey' so don't you dare refer to me as such ever again, in fact don't talk to me, don't even look my way if you see me on the street. While we're at it, I feel obligated to inform you that you chose the wrong person to upset." Yuri's eyes widened, the three males were in shock as Kiana raised her left hand, it was at this time that Tsutomu and Yuri saw the leather wrapped around her knuckles, and punched as hard as she could at the face of the woman that had sneered at her. She howled in pain, the half-Irish woman stood up, Yuri scrambled away from her, Tsutomu stepped forward but he didn't get very far as Kiana throat jabbed him with the same left hand, and he joined his girlfriend on the floor. "The same goes for you as well you disgusting excuse of a male. You say you're the best cop and yet you can't even fend off a female of my small stature." She motioned to the dirty office, " _That_ is my domain, enter again without reason, and I'll be sure to do something far worse." Kiana turned her back on them, Yuri got up, and ran towards her; the two women fell to the ground.

Kiana rolled onto her back only to have Yuri on top of her, trying to hit her but failing miserably so this gave her the advantage, the forensic managed to get her knee between their two bodies, and used all of her muscle to push Yuri off of her. The other woman yelped at the unexpected pain as her body tumbled away from the red head, and Kiana slowly got up; blue eyes blazing.

"How can a little scientist like you do all this?!" gasped Yuri.

Kiana's eyes darkened and her voice fell so that only those nearest her could hear, "When you spend the majority of your childhood serving a snake then you tend to learn a few things here and there." Without a second thought, she lunged towards the two, but was intercepted by Sousuke. She blinked a few times, he had one arm wrapped around her waist, the other had her arms pinned to her chest, and her back was against him. The two scrambled away from the three, and up against the wall.

Yuri stated, "You want to know why I dumped him?! He's damaged! He's broken and can't be fixed! I refuse to deal with that shit!"

"The only broken one here is you besides it's not up to you to decide if someone is damaged or not," came the Irish woman's statement.

Teal eyes stared at her, Rin was shocked that she would use those same words meant for her towards the man that now held her pinned to his chest. The other two left the hallway while Sousuke whispered near her ear, "Are you ready to calm down?" Kiana took in a few deep breaths, "Good?" She nodded, he released her, and watched as she put a hand over her heart.

Ocean pools stared into teal lagoons, "Why would you still want to be with someone that berated you like that?" Sousuke was silent, "You shouldn't be with a walking sperm bank. It's unhealthy." He gave a chuckle, Kiana approached him, she reached up, placed her palms on either side of his face then brought him down to her level, and whispered, "You said once that it's no one's place to decide if another is damaged. I took those words to heart, you should too because you're not damaged and you're not broken." Kiana stood on her tip toes and placed a kiss on his forehead, she drew it out so that he would understand that she cared about him on a deeper level even if he didn't feel the same towards her. Her voice was quiet, "Thank you Sousuke." She let him go, turned around, and began to clean up her office so that she could start on the evidence that she had collected.

The two detectives returned to their office to sort their paperwork, Rin couldn't keep his eyes off of his partner, "Why are you staring at me Rin?"

"Nothing."

"I can't concentrate. What do you want?" He asked as he looked his friend in the eye, "If it's about Kiana, let it go. She's just a friend and nothing more." The male's gaze drifted from his friend as he looked at the paperwork once more.

"Is it because you're afraid?" Teal eyes snapped to red ones, "So _that's_ what it is! You're afraid that she's going to leave like Yuri and the others." Still the brunette only stared at his friend, his face unreadable, "She won't, you know."

"Drop it." Rin shrugged, they returned to work while Kiana worked carefully on the evidence that she had collected, logging everything about it, and where it had been found at the crime scene. She would need more time to analyze it but she would find the culprit that stole some chemicals from the company that Rei was employed at. As the hours wore on, she returned the evidence to the room and stated that she would need it back the next day, the man nodded, and she returned to her office to get ready for her after work rendezvous.

Kiana was sitting on her Vespa, ready to head to the swim club, Gou popped out, and asked for a ride, the red head grinned, and nodded. She hooted with joy as she got on behind her friend, the pair zipped off with Rin shouting behind them. They only laughed as the car caught up to them, Gou grinned at her brother, and they headed towards the club.

She felt more at ease with her body showing the scars from her younger years, she was sitting at the edge of the pool with Koari on one side and Gou on the other. She sighed, the two women looked at her, "It's like a merry-go-round with him." They rubbed her back, "I don't know what else I can do." She explained what happened with Yuri that day and Gou snickered at her violent temper and Koari assured her that he would come around. "I've been waiting for someone special to come along but he's the only one that I see when I close my eyes. It's been like that since he graduated...I didn't think much of his presence when he was there but when I realized he was gone...I almost fell apart."

"How so?" inquired Koari.

Blue eyes stared at the surface of the pool, "He was a constant in my life, I could always count on him greeting me in the morning and walking me home from school. My life isn't normal by any means but...he made it _feel_ normal. It was as if everything that happened to me was meant to happen so that I could see him." She didn't realize that her face was blushing or that there was a soft smile on her lips, "Sousuke...was my rock and when he left without giving me a way to contact him, my mind nearly exploded. I was very violent, anything that anyone did around me set off my temper."

"Sounds like you missed him a lot. Did you?"

"Yeah, for a month I kept thinking that I'd see him at the gate of Samezuka but I never did. After that, I realized he was gone. He was the only person I ever considered a friend back then and he disappeared, like he was never there. All I had was the memory of his lips on my forehead and somewhere along the way I began to pine after that attention. I wanted it..." she shook her head, "No I _needed_ his attention, his and only his. I knew it wasn't going to happen even though he said we'd meet again so I worked hard in school, refocused my efforts to help my Dad." She added quietly with a soft chuckle, "I still need his attention even after all this time, I still crave it. No matter how little I get, it's never enough but I'm satisfied with what we have now."

"There was no one else?" asked Gou. She shook her head, "Not even in college?" Again that shake, "If you need his attention that bad then maybe you should just kiss him." Kiana snapped her attention onto her, the blush and smile disappeared as Koari did focused her attention on Gou as well, the Matsuoka sister shrugged. "It's something to consider, if your subtle hints aren't working then maybe something bold is better suited or you could just tell him what you told us about needing his attention." Koari agreed but that was only if the Irish woman was comfortable, to which she stated that she wasn't, and this made the other two laugh. "Use it as a last resort then!" Kiana nodded, stared at the pool's surface, and absentmindedly trailed her fingertips across the scars that littered her left arm. "Why are you doing that?"

"I'm thinking about the person who caused them."

"Oh."

"Anything we can help with?" asked the other woman who had hair that looked like strands of milk chocolate.

"Not really. I'm fine though, thank you." They nodded to her, "I think I'm better suited to swimming like a seal underwater." Koari and Gou stared at her, she chuckled, pulled the goggles over her eyes, and pushed herself from the edge of the pool. The other two laughed, followed suit but they were swimming the front crawl but were happy to see her swimming underwater like a seal. They all broke surface near the edge when the males walked by, Koari asked how she could hold her breath like that. Kiana smiled warmly, "When I do other things I try to hold my breath for as long as possible."

"You're training!" exclaimed the chocolate-haired woman.

"No, I just want to swim underwater..." her voice trailed off, "like a Selkie." Gou laughed as she said that Haru trains in the bath tub, "Really?" She thought about it, "Maybe I should do that too." The other two laughed, she looked at each of them, and smiled. Feet were in her view, Kiana swam backwards as Sousuke set his feet in the water, he leaned over to look at her, she stared at him through her pink goggles, and felt that intensity once more. A light blush spread across her cheeks, she immediately used her leg strength to dive into the water while taking a deep breath before submerging herself. After a few minutes, she resurfaced, took deep breaths, and looked to see that Sousuke was still watching her, she pulled her goggles down, and swam up to the area next to him since the other two women had left. Kiana hoisted herself up on the ledge, she moved to sit on the diving block, which allowed her to be level with his shoulder.

Without asking him, Kiana immediately began to massage his shoulder, he sighed quietly but allowed one teal eye to watch her, she was focused on the shoulder, analyzing it, trying to break it down so that she could do a better job. The spots where he involuntarily flinched were areas where she was much more gentle, the sections where she heard him moan quietly, had been pressed harder to work out the kink that was there. It was all something she had learned by analyzing him except when she finished this time, she did something completely unexpected, and Sousuke looked at her in order to thank her but was shocked into silence. Kiana placed her lips against his bare skin, he realized they were softer than they looked, and enticingly plump. Her eyes were closed, the orange colored lashes stood out against her pale skin, and he felt a sudden urge to stroke her cheek with the tips of his fingers then run them through her hair but he refrained; only wanting to memorize her face at the moment. She let them linger there for a lot longer than she should have, when she backed off, her eyes opened slowly, they stared at one another for a bit then she dove into the water before he could regain his composure, and he heard distant snickering. One glance told him that Seijuro and Rin were the cause of it but his gaze brought him back to Kiana, her body moved underwater until another met up with her.

Haru surfaced, she looked at him, smiled, and both dove under the water once more; Sousuke watched her body move, she had gotten a lot better. He rolled his shoulder, got up, and looked at Rin; Rei was standing there as well. "Let's race." The three butterfly swimmers mounted the blocks, she resurfaced moments later, and watched as they dove into the water. Again she was surprised by Sousuke's speed and power, Haru patted her head. She looked at him and was rewarded with a small smile from the quiet water-loving male.

"You're doing good. Slow and steady."

"Like a river."

"Sometimes the river gets rough."

Kiana smiled warmly, "True."

"You should tell him how you feel. Everyone can see it."

"I know but I'm not courageous enough."

"You just need a push."

"Yeah...Gou and Koari are trying."

"Not that kind of push."

"Then what?"

"Perhaps the two of you need to be locked in a closet." Kiana's face turned crimson, the other three males surfaced, they stared at the pair, and she couldn't hide her face from Haru or the others since she was still in the water. "If you think of another way then voice it or I'll do it."

"How will you do that?"

Haru gave her the barest hint of a smirk, "There's more than one way to trap a whaleshark and a seal." Immediately he dove away from her, she yelled after him, and tried to follow but couldn't because he exhibited just how fast he really was, and she pouted. Sousuke stared at the expression, she swam to the edge of the pool, and watched as Haru surfaced quite a ways away from her, "Take your time but not too long." She nodded, got out of the water, and headed for her beach bag; her phone was ringing.

She wrapped a towel around her, picked it up, and answered, "Hagano." Ocean irises blinked many times, "Dad...you what?" A palm was placed on half of her face as she shook her head, "Why would you do that?" She leaned back against the bench, the others were curious as to what was going on, "No. Don't touch anything because you'll just make it worse than it already is." Kiana sighed but there was a smile on her face, "See? This is why you're not allowed in the kitchen. I'll be home soon to see what I can do. Just...sit in the den." He laughed, "See you soon." She hung up, grabbed her items and headed to the locker room. Gou stopped her, "Sorry, Dad decided to try to cook for once and ended up making a terrible mess in the kitchen." She laughed, "I have to go but thank you." She hugged her female friend, Koari had snuck up behind her, and squished her from behind. Kiana chuckled, waved to the others, "See you guys tomorrow!"

Food was everywhere, on the floor, the counters, the stove top, and she couldn't believe how it happened so she dropped her items off in her room as a start. Kiana saw the note on the table, "I decided to take your mother out to dinner before she saw the mess so you're on your own. I asked someone to come by and help you!" She sighed with a smile on her face, "You're such an idiot." There was a knock on her door, she opened it up, and looked at the green and black plaid shirt. Her gaze drifted up and met those teal eyes, "Sousuke?"

"He ordered me to come by. Said that he'd give me unpaid leave if I didn't."

She invited him, dialed her father, and closed the door behind her guest, "Have a seat." Sousuke sat at the table, she began to pick up the food from the floor as her father picked up the phone, "You're not allowed to use your power like that." He was laughing on the other end of the phone, "Dad. No!" Kiana was in the kitchen facing Sousuke, he watched her carefully. The forensic took in a deep breath and stated flatly, "I'm not cooking for the next week nor am I grocery shopping so tell Mom." She hung up, put the phone in her pocket then began to clean up the floor first before focusing her attention on the counters.

"That was a bit harsh, don't you think?"

"Nope. He's a child sometimes."

"One wouldn't think that with how he is at work." She nodded, "Do you need help?" She shook her head, once the floor was clean, she started on the counters, and it didn't take her long to finished up then blue eyes looked at the oven. She pulled it open and her eye twitched.

"I'm going to kill him."

"Pardon?"

"I'm going to kill him." It didn't take much for Sousuke to lean over and see what the problem was, there was apparently something that exploded inside the oven so that it caked all over the walls. She dialed him back, "Correction, I'm not cooking or shopping for a whole month." She hung up again while grabbing some cleaning supplies and ducking inside the oven.

"Need help?"

"No thank you." After a grueling twenty minutes, she popped out with her hair matted to her face, "I smell like soy sauce and oven cleaner." Once the supplies were put away, she turned to look at Sousuke, "I need to shower so make yourself at home." He nodded, stated that he'd wait there, "Do you want something to drink?" He shrugged, she opened up the refrigerator, grabbed some tea, poured it in a glass, and handed it to him; the pitcher was placed on the table. "I'll be back in thirty." He nodded, teal eyes watched her disappear into her room, this time he whipped out his phone, and texted Rin what had happened.

His friend laughed at him since the Chief was abusing his power in order to get them alone, Sousuke shook his head, and stated that he just wanted to leave. The argument went on for the entire time that she was in the shower, Kiana exited, and noticed that he had finished his tea while on the phone. She asked him if it was work, "No, just Rin." Teal eyes put the phone away, he stared at her, she was wearing a blue button shirt with jeans, and her hair wrapped in a braided bun. He didn't understand how someone could have been so alluring just from coming out of the shower. "I should go."

"Okay. I'd offer you dinner but it would take a long time to make seeing as he used the leftovers to make a mess."

"It's fine, thanks anyway. See you tomorrow." She saw him to the door, said the same to him, and he left; the door closed behind him. He sighed heavily once he was inside the safety of his car and rested his forehead on the steering wheel. "How could she be so sexy just looking like that?" It took him a few minutes to realize what he'd said, his eyes closed, and all he could see was her smiling at him; eyes twinkling like stars. "What is going on?" He tried to think about Yuri but the only thing that came to mind was Kiana slugging her in the face, he chuckled, ran a hand through his hair, and sat up straight. The car started and he realized his own jeans felt excruciatingly tight as his mind continued to churn with different images of Kiana. In her swimsuit, her workwear, how her messy bun allowed her curls to bounce loose, and a memory came to him that he had all but pushed away over the years.

He said his farewell to her after graduation, his lips pressed on her forehead but his body urged him to plant that kiss elsewhere. Teal eyes had stared down at her, talking with her but his mind just focused on those plump lips, lips that rarely released any words but were oh so inviting when she gave those small smiles. He patted her head, she still looked up at him, her blouse was low-cut, he could clearly see her cleavage but she didn't seem to notice, and those blue eyes were still loking at him. Absorbing every word, so instead of indulging himself, he kissed her forehead, and bade her goodbye. As he left, he could feel his heart ache, his chest tightened, and when he rounded the corner out of sight he exhaled. The muscle in his chest beat irregularly, he peeked around the corner to see her reaction, she placed a hand on her forehead, and sighed. He could tell that she was sad at his departure but he didn't want to drag her down, he felt that she deserved someone else other than him because, in his mind's eye, she was too good for him and he was broken.

Sousuke muttered, "She was always so exotic, unlike anyone from around here, and that's what drew me to her. I just...wanted to see her smile and hear her voice and I have those things now so..." He realized something right then, "That's what it is. It's always been there and I was just too blind to see it." He smirked, backed out of the complex, and headed to his own apartment to relieve some much needed stress.

-::::::-

Immediately the air was different when she entered the station, the two women greeted one another then Gou stared at her, and Kiana looked around warily, "What is it?"

"I don't know...something's off." The forensic headed to the evidence room to get the box, once she had it, her feet took her to her office, and she stopped in the threshold. Sousuke was sitting there, he looked at her, and she asked, "Can I help you?" Immediately she noted his droopy teal eyes were more vibrant than the previous day, they glistened with something she couldn't identify.

"I was waiting for you."

"Me?"

"Who else works in this tidy office?" Kiana placed her satchel on the counter, walked around him, set the box down, and pulled on some gloves. "I'm not in your way right?" She shook her head and stated as long as he didn't touch anything. "I won't."

"You look different today."

"How so?"

"I don't know. Satisfied." Sousuke gave a small smirk as she focused on her work, she placed the thumb print copy into the scanner, and set the first computer to work while she focused her efforts on the bloodied swab. Teal irises held that intense stare as she worked but she was oblivious to it since she wanted to find the culprits as soon as possible. The computer beeped, she pushed her chair towards, it clicked on the keyboard, and began to print out the information. Kiana returned to analyzing the blood sample, it was ran through the database as well but the estimated time stated it would be a few hours. She sighed, "What am I going to do for a few hours?" Sousuke continued to watch her as she dialed the person in charge of the servers, a quick chat, and she hung up. "Great, the system went down then rebooted and now it's slow." She sighed, packed up the evidence carefully, set the newly acquired information in a folder, then laid it on the shelf. It was then she realized there was something different in the office, blue eyes stared at Sousuke. "Don't you have work?"

"My work is waiting for you to be done. Without it I can't proceed." She nodded, grabbed her seal coffee mug, "Coffee?" She nodded, he got up, and followed after her to the break room but noticed she locked her office door. They waited for the coffee to finish, Sousuke leaned against the wall next to her, and she glanced up at him. "Thanks for the coffee mug."

"You're welcome."

"You know I'm not chubby right?"

"I know."

"You were joking."

"Yes," she said with a smile that touched her eyes. He stared down at her and wondered again why he had been so oblivious to what he felt. Apparently she became embarrassed and looked away with a slight blush on her face as they waited for the coffee. "I wonder why no one makes coffee in the morning. I'll have to come in early to do it."

"Can you do something for me?"

"Sure."

"I'd like your bento." She was silent, her eyes snapped onto him, "If you're willing to make it for me again."

"You want my bento?"

"Yeah."

"But I thought you didn't want people to think I'm your girlfriend."

This time he looked at her, they locked eyes, and she didn't back down; a smirk slid onto his features. Her face heated up at how his face suddenly became so attractive with just the curl of his lips, "What's the matter? Friends can't make friends bentos?" She bit her lower lip, he reached out, pulled it out, "Don't do that, you'll make yourself bleed." Sousuke leaned down and whispered in a low tone, "Then I'll have to kiss it to make it better." When he pulled away, her face turned a million shades of red at once, Kiana immediately turned away from him, poured some coffee, tossed in some sugar, and returned to her office. He followed her out of the break room and watched her saunter to her office, "Don't forget to come and get me with your findings." She raised a hand and gave a little wave to show that she heard him as he headed to his own office.

Rin stared at him as he sat down, "What the hell is with you?"

"What do you mean?"

"Yesterday you're all gloomy and today you act like you've won the Olympic Gold Medal for butterfly. What gives?"

Teal eyes glanced at the door, "Epiphany."

"Of what?"

"The heart."

"I have never known you to be so cryptic, you're starting to sound like Haru."

"I am not."

"Yes you are. So what gives man?"

Sousuke smirked, "You'll have to wait and see that's all." As usual the day winded down, she was angry that she couldn't get any work done because of the servers, but she had swimming to look forward to. As she rode with Gou on the Vespa, her mind churned with what Sousuke had been doing all day at work. Always popping in to see how she was doing, if she needed anything, they went to lunch with Gou and Rin as usual but his gaze never left her, and she knew something was going on. He would always brush his fingertips across her arm to get her attention or whisper something in her ear, it was all very confusing but she had two wonderful female friends that could help her decipher the intimidating male.

When they got the locker room, Koari met them there, and Kiana explained to the both of them what went on that morning. Gou smirked, "He's flirting with you." She nodded while Koari agreed with the Matsuoka sister. "Can I send him that picture now?"

"When I leave!"

"Awesome!"

"What picture?" asked the chocolate haired woman. Gou showed it to her and she squealed with glee, "Oh my god! You _have_ to send it to him!"

"I know! I know!" Kiana was blushing madly as she exited the locker room, the males had seen it too but soon figured out that she was being teased. Sousuke changed quickly, much more quickly than before, and exited just as she was placing her bag on the bench with her towel. Kiana sat down, parted her hair, and began to braid it; there was a shadow next to her.

"Has your hair ever been short before?"

"Once."

"What does it look like?"

"A poodle."

"It's not that fluffy is it?"

"Yes."

Sousuke stared at her, she pinned one braid already, and began on the other as he whispered, "Maybe I could see it one day." She had been pulling on the swim cap when he said that so it snapped against the back of her scalp and her attention riveted onto him. Her head tilted as if to ask him what he was doing, he leaned in close, his lips barely touching her ear, and murmured, "I'm flirting." Kiana blushed, grabbed her goggles, and left his vicinity as fast as she could go; he sat there smirking at her as Rin emerged from the locker room. He asked him what happened and the teal-eyed swimmer replied simply, "You missed something interesting but I'm sure you'll see it anyway."

"Stop being so cryptic!" Sousuke gave a chuckle, Kiana met up with Gou and Koari; which both had seen the exchange. She dove in, as the others began to swim in the other lanes, and Kiana breached the surface after a bit just to catch her breath.

After a few hours, she was sitting on one of the diving blocks, Sousuke took a seat next to her, she stared at him, "Could you?" She nodded with a smile, immediately began to massage his shoulder, and he sighed contentedly. "Could you do it before I swim too? It helps a lot better."

"Sure. Just don't embarrass me."

"It's not my fault you're easily embarrassed Freckles." She fell into that silent person she was when he had first met her and he smiled, "You're still the same Freckles from all those years ago aren't you?" She shrugged, "You may be more open but I can still see the traces of your personality." Kiana chuckled, "I'm sorry I didn't give you any way to contact me."

"Don't worry about it, I'm still mad at my Dad."

"Why?"

"He knew you worked there! He could have told me instead surprising me like that."

Sousuke chuckled, her face heated up, "So you revert to your quiet self when you're surprised or on guard." She nodded, "You're still very cute no matter what you do." She massaged a particularly sensitive spot and he gave an involuntary moan. A single teal eye stared at her, she gave an innocent smile, "Do that again and watch what happens." Sparks appeared in those blue eyes, she wanted to take that challenge, she really did but she wasn't sure she could handle the consequences so she eased off. "You're still shy." Kiana massaged roughly once more, he elicited another moan, and stared at her; she recognized the look in his eyes, it was the beginnings of arousal. "I warned you. One more time." Kiana looked up at the ceiling, weighing her options while her fingers worked his flesh, and she decided on an answer.

Kiana pressed firmly into his skin, his left hand flew up to block the sound that escaped his parted lips, a cross between a moan and a growl that was laced with lust. Once he had himself under control, he glanced at her over his shoulder, her eyes locked with his as she placed her lips against his damaged skin once more. When she removed them, she whispered, "I spent five years as a kitchen girl in a brothel before Akira Yamamoto rescued me. I saw things and learned things no little girl should have at that age." Kiana stood on the diving block, pulled her goggles on, and dove straight into the water. Sousuke realized she swam away because she was embarrassed, he smirked, got up, and joined Rin at another part of the pool.

"I saw you Sousuke."

"Did you now?"

"I did."

"And?"

Rin grinned, "I'm glad you're flirting but she doesn't seem to be doing a good job about it."

Teal eyes softened as they saw her surface to catch her breath but immediately swam away since Nagisa was after her. "She flirts in her own way without even realizing it." He sighed quietly while moving his arm in a circular motion, Rin looked at him, "Such a merry-go-round."

"It's alright just be gentle with her." He nodded to his friend as they began their usual training of doing laps. Eventually she tired out, pulled herself out of the water, and headed to the locker room. Once she was clean, she exited, and waited for the others to finish, "You're doing really good Kiana." She smiled up at Rin, Koari praised her as well so she continued to smile until Gou announced something.

"Okay! I'm sending it!" Kiana's face turned red, she hopped on the Vespa, started it, and zipped off so fast that no one even knew what happened. Gou was laughing with Koari as the Matsuoka sister hit the sent button. "There you go Sousuke! Just for you." He was slightly confused but only nodded, they parted ways, and he entered his car.

His hand unlocked his phone, accessed the text messages, and clicked on the picture; his eyes widened and he immediately covered his lower face with his left hand. He knew his face was blushing at the picture, Kiana had soap bubbles covering her chest and nether regions but everything else was exposed. The look on her face, pure innocent surprise made his heartbeat quicken, and he put the phone into the cup holder, and started the car. Sousuke had a limited time to get home and out of his clothes before it would become a problem so he kept his mind occupied with other thoughts but it was very difficult.

Kiana entered the apartment, she sighed, headed for her room, and began a nice hot shower for herself. She finished, her phone chimed, she picked it up, and saw a picture message from Sousuke; it showed his torso being illuminated by a desk lamp. Immediately teeth bit her lower lip, she removed her towel, covered her chest, and snapped a picture of her scale covered side. "You may have hard chiseled muscles but I've got soft squishy scales." Of course she checked what the picture looked like before sending it to him, she dried her hair, braided it, and finished up for the night. Content with her snap chat but she texted Haru that she wanted to tell him about everything when she had a chance to sort things out. She received a picture of him giving a thumbs up, Kiana smiled, "I'm so lucky to have friends like them. Life is a merry-go-round and sometimes you have to go the wrong way in order to find the things that matter most to you." Kiana laid down, pulled the blankets over her body, and sighed happily, "This emotional roller coaster that I'm on is completely worth it for friends like them. Especially since I get to be near Sousuke again." Her eyes fluttered closed and her voice faded, "I guess I really did have a crush on him in high school...scratch that. Still _do_ have a crush on him."

-::::::-

Hair was wrapped in a bun, neatly kept at the base of her neck, she was analyzing the data again to make sure it was who the computer said it was, and she was oblivious to a male standing in the door of her office. She leaned back, stretched her arms above her head, and felt her back crack in multiple places, "You should stretch more frequently so that doesn't happen." Blue eyes looked to see Sousuke standing there, he set down her seal mug, and he had his whaleshark one with him. It was becoming customary of him to take five minutes during the mid-morning to get her coffee and spend some time with her since everyone was becoming quite busy.

"Thank you."

He nodded, "You can join Rin and I in our office with Gou so we can eat our bentos."

"I'm sorry it took so long to make one for you. I wasn't sure what you liked."

"I trust you to make something good."

She rewarded him with a smile, "Why did you suddenly start doing this?"

"Hm?"

"Taking time out every day to talk with me."

He sipped his coffee and smirked, "Trying to catch up on lost time. Eleven years is a long time, I missed you."

"You could have given me your number or email."

"I didn't want to distract you."

She blinked a few times, sipped her coffee then reached over, and placed her palm on top of the back of his that held his mug. Teal eyes stared at that hand, she whispered, "You never distracted me. You always helped me to focus in the morning and in the afternoon you gave me something to look forward to."

Freckled skin retracted from his, "What was that?"

Another smile, "Just you."

"What makes me so special?"

"You're my friend, I wanted to see my friend and hear about your day even though you never said anything." He nodded then she added, "You know I did see you at a tournament." Sousuke stared at her, "You mentioned it once and I went to watch you but you didn't swim. Rin did with Haru and the others, I didn't know them at the time but they were disqualified."

He chuckled, "Yeah, morons." Kiana stared at him and laughed, he looked at her, "I really like your laugh Kiana." She abruptly stopped, blushed lightly, sipped her coffee, and he added, "I still like your freckles."

"What's with the freckles?"

"No one around here has them. You're unique, exotic."

"Not as exotic as a chubby whaleshark." He stared at her, eyes widened just slightly as she sipped her coffee, and she couldn't help the smirk on her face. His hand patted her head, she looked at him, he placed his lips on her forehead, and Sousuke heard her happily sigh quietly. "Usually when you do that you leave and act distant."

"Not this time." He got up with his coffee, "Back to work." She nodded, he paused in her doorway, "Good talk Freckles." She promptly laughed as he left while closing the door, she drank her coffee, and couldn't help the grin on her face as she returned to work with more vigor than before; ever so happy to have him spending time with her as they had done in high school.

When lunch arrived, she grabbed her bento, locked her office, and headed straight for the detectives' office; she knocked on the door jamb. Gou greeted her, pulled up a chair, and Kiana took a seat next to her. Sousuke had the bento she made him while the others brought theirs out, she felt a little fidgety, and Gou hugged her. "It's okay Kiana. You're having a bento lunch with friends!"

"I know...it's the first time for me." She received another hug while Rin smiled, they unwrapped their bentos, and opened them. Although the others were shocked at Sousuke's since it was packed with slices of fresh raw fish, rice balls that consisted of three different types of rice, and a variety of steamed vegetables with sauteed mushrooms. "I'm sorry if it's too much...I wasn't sure what to make so I just went with it." They looked at hers, it was different, there were three shrimp dumplings, the same rice balls, a piece of steamed herring, and a side of sauteed vegetables. "What?"

"How do you know how to cook like that?!" exclaimed Gou.

Kiana smiled, "Mom taught me this type of food but Irish food has always been my specialty. I've known how to cook that since I was little."

"Can I have some of that Irish food?"

"Well...maybe if there's a party or something, I'll bring a dish."

"Awesome!" They dug right in but Sousuke thanked her for it, she smiled warmly at him, and she munched on her dumpling while he ate his fish. Rin could tell that he liked the food, he watched his face stare at the food but there was a subtle gaze towards Kiana as she listened to Gou talk about muscles again. She raised an eyebrow at her friend but didn't interrupt her, instead she kept listening. "What's your take on muscles?"

"I remember saying something to you before but do you admire Rin's muscles too? He's your brother." She nodded, "Why are you so weird?" Gou stared at Kiana then burst into laughter, the Irish woman wore a small smile on her face, and Rin joined in soon after. "It's not that funny." Gou retorted that it was and Kiana chuckled, "Okay then." As their lunch finished, she took the empty box from Sousuke, he walked her back to her office, "You don't have to do that."

"I want to."

"Why?" He paused in the hallway as she unlocked it, Kiana turned around to look up at him, he leaned down, and placed a kiss on her forehead again. "I don't get it."

Suddenly she felt his hot breath on her exposed neck, she felt as if he would sink his teeth into her flesh but he murmured, "To make up for lost time. I really like you Freckles." He leaned back, his teal eyes focused on her neck, and her face was red.

She coughed, "Are you a vampire?"

"No."

"Why are you eyeing my neck like it's a piece of meat?"

Again his hot murmur near her ear, "Because it's a good place to mark." Sousuke left it at that, she closed the door, and tried to gain control of her breathing. The rest of the day was spent rubbing her neck, she had half a mind to take her bun down but decided against it. Kiana knew that she was going to need a lot of laps in order to think straight again.

As everyone dove into the pool, she was sitting next to Haru, and she fidgeted as she told him quietly what was going on. The water-loving male gave a small smile, she stared at him, "He's flirting."

"I know but...I don't know how to react."

"What's your first instinct?"

She thought, "I..." Her face turned red and he stayed quiet, knowing that she would tell him, and her voice dropped. "To shove him in a chair and sit on him." Immediately her hands flew to her face to hide it from view, Haru gently pulled them down, and patted her shoulder.

"It's alright. You've liked him since high school right?"

Kiana chuckled, "More like love at first sight but not knowing until later."

"Hm?"

"When he stuck up for me the first time, I really just wanted to hug him, and thank him but I didn't because I was afraid."

"Are you still afraid?"

"I want him to be comfortable. If he still thinks about that walking sper-"

"HELLO EVERYBODY!"

The people present looked at false blond as she entered with a familiar officer on her arm, "Really?" Haru chuckled at the animosity in her voice. She got up, the male followed suit, and she immediately made a line for Sousuke. Rin groaned at the voice, Koari bristled, and the Samezuka Whaleshark was going to turn around until he felt a hand pat his forearm. He glanced down and saw Kiana, she patted it again, and turned around to look at Yuri.

"Oh, it's the little scientist, what do you do here?"

"Swim."

"That's funny seeing as you don't look like it with all that pudge on you!" Kiana simply ignored the comment, "Aww, what's the matter? Poor little scientist can't get with prince charming?" Tsutomu and Yuri both snickered, Kiana took a breath, and Sousuke looked down at her as the blond's eyes trailed down his form. "Well, maybe if I had seen your body Sousuke then I might have reconsidered breaking up with you. Do you like my new body?"

Of course she was thin and in shape because that's what she wanted for herself, Tsutomu rubbed his hands all over her body while she moaned in pleasure in front of the detective. Rin gagged, Kiana's eyes narrowed, and Sousuke stated, "No. You're too thin, I've realized that I prefer someone with a bit more softness around the edges than you." Those narrowed blue pools suddenly widened as she realized he spoke about her, Yuri scoffed, and stated that he'd tire of her. "No I won't."

Her heart was beating irregularly in her chest, Haru patted her shoulder, she took a few more breaths, and said, "Stop with your disgusting affection here."

"Why? Little scientist is upset she don't have someone to rub her?"

"No, there are children present."

"So? They need to learn sometime."

Immediately her eye twitched, "You swim sperm bank?" The others chuckled at the nickname that she ha picked out for the woman. She proudly stated that she was a champion, "Fine. Two-hundred meter fr-"

"Back stroke!" she exclaimed.

"Fine. Two-hundred meter backstroke."

"What are the prizes?"

Kiana stated, "When I win you'll leave Sousuke alone."

"When?" she laughed, "Yeah right sure. If I win then...well...you have to date Tsutomu so I can have Sousuke back." Kiana nodded, no one stopped her because she was determined, she pulled on her goggles, and got into the water. Makoto was standing by, concerned for her but he watched as she prepped herself, and he was placated. When asked by Rin if she could do it, he nodded, and said she would win.

As they prepared themselves, Tsutomu yelled for them to start, even though Yuri cheated by jumping the start, Kiana still took off like she was being chased by something. In fact, her blue eyes were blazing behind those pink goggles, and her mind was on nothing but winning. She hit the wall, flipped, and continued on; never looking to the side to see how her opponent was doing. As the two women were coming to the end of the race, Kiana slapped the wall, and broke the surface, catching her breath.

Sousuke watched with the others, she was slicing through the water as if she had done it all her life but it was the intensity in her eyes that caught his attention, it was something he had never seen before, and it was something he wanted to remember. As she broke the surface, her eyes watched as Yuri finished thirty seconds later. Kiana got out of the pool, the blond female was helped out by Tsutomu, and they glared at one another. "I guess my pudge wins for stamina and strength."

"You bi-"

"Say it." Pink goggles were pulled down to reveal those angry blue eyes, Yuri was shocked at the animosity in them, she took a step back as Kiana took one forward, "Say it."

"Fine, you can have the dama-"

"He's not damaged." Yuri gulped as that animosity increased to malevolence, she nodded and left with Tsutomu, stating that the beach was much nicer. Kiana relaxed her body, she didn't realize it was tensed up to the point where she would strike out like a coiled spring. She immediately took a seat on a diving block to regain her breath, Koari hugged her from behind, Gou from another side, and Makoto on the opposite. "What?" They laughed and praised her for her skill, she sighed with a smile, "I really wanted to kick her arse but I chose not to. Not with children around." They laughed her terminology, she smiled, they released her, and she noticed that Sousuke took a seat next to her. His body was twisted slightly so that he could look at her and she glanced away from him. His hand reached up, pulled her face towards him, and she blushed while trying to catch her breath.

"Why go through all that trouble for me?"

Kiana smiled, it made her eyes twinkle, "Because you're my friend whom I rely on a great deal."

"You rely on me?"

He retracted his hand, she nodded, "Yes ever since high school." Kiana leaned forward, "I like you too Sousuke." She dove off into the water even though she didn't put her goggles back on but he knew she was embarrassed. He watched her with his teal eyes, she broke the surface, coughed, and swam to another part of the pool until a large blond male grabbed her from behind. She squeaked, looked up, and saw Makoto praising her for her backstroke, she smiled, and said he taught her well.

"So she likes me too hm?"


	6. Flirting

**Disclaimer:** I do not own _Free! Iwatobi Swim Club_ or any of the characters portrayed in it, they belong to Koji Oji, I simply own the character named Kiana Hagano, some others thrown in, and that is all. This was inspired by a a spur of the moment idea (don't judge me XD ) so I hope you all enjoy it as much as I do writing it.

 **Chapter 6** \- Flirting

Another day at work, she was analyzing the evidence once more, this time she got a definitive answer on who broke into the chemical lab, and she immediately began to print the information. It was organized into a folder, she grabbed it, and headed to the detectives' office. She rapped her knuckle on the open door, they both looked up at her, and walked in. The folder placed on the desk, "Here's the conclusions of the evidence. I managed to get both suspects and their addresses so you shouldn't have too much of a tough time finding them. Likely they'll be out in the open since it's been so long."

"Thanks Kiana!" exclaimed Rin. She smiled and nodded as he opened the folder, "Wow. You're really thorough aren't you?" She nodded again, "Thanks for this. We'll be back."

"Sure. I'll be here." He laughed as he got up to inform the Chief, Sousuke followed suit but paused by her, he looked down, and she looked up. Tilted her head to the side, he reached up a hand, and ran his fingers through her hair. She blushed, "What?"

"Your curls."

"What about them?"

Lips twitched into a smirk, "They're so soft." She blushed as he left, "Gotta go. See you around Freckles." Kiana watched as he left, she whipped out her phone, and texted her two best female friends about what was going on, she knew he was flirting but wasn't sure what to do in return. She even texted Haru as she felt he was like a brother to her. Of course Haru's response was the same as Gou's and Koari's which was to just push him against the wall and kiss him. Her face turned red, she stalked out of the office, towards her own, and grabbed her coffee mug.

Once her cup was full, she returned to her little office, happy to have been of help to Iwatobi but her mind kept turning to what Sousuke had done when he left. She pulled some hair over her shoulder, ran her fingers through it, and muttered, "They don't feel soft at all. What's he talking about?" There was no one to answer her but she kept toying with the ends of her hair, trying to figure out what he meant. "Maybe it's something other people can tell and not me." Lips pressed against the coffee mug, she sipped the liquid, "I honestly don't know what to do in return. I'm at a loss." Her coffee was finished, she stretched her arms above her head, and simply waited for someone to bring her something to do. It wasn't a particularly busy day for her but the others had their hands full since spring break was coming up and there were bound to be a lot of teenagers around.

She chuckled, "I remember those days. Mine were different but maybe we can go hang out at a campfire or something. Would be nice." Kiana simply sat there, pushing her container of pens around on the desk since there was nothing for her to do, and it kept her busy for the time being. Rin and Sousuke returned with two culprits in custody, they were taken to the interrogation room, and she still continued to think about nothing in particular. Her phone buzzed, she looked at the message, "Huh? Koari's having a party? Cool." Blues read the text, "Semi-formal wear so bring a nice dress and/or clothes. We'll meet here." A hotel's name was listed with the address and a winking face, "If you want then you can bring a date." Her face turned red, she knew this was sent to everyone in her phone book, which meant that Sousuke got it too. "Is she doing this on purpose?"

Soon there was another text but it came from Haru, she glanced at it, "More than one way to trap a whaleshark and a seal." Sousuke paused by her office door, she chuckled at the message, and texted in return, "You better not have something else up your sleeve!" Her response was received immediately, "I do." Kiana texted back, "Tell me." Haru responded, "No. You'll find out." She puffed her cheeks out in annoyance, he tapped on the door, she glanced at him, and immediately released the air. "Yes?"

"I assume you read her text?" She nodded, "Do you want to go? With me? I could pick you up at your place." Kiana couldn't find her voice so she just nodded and he gave her a small smile, "Good. I'll be there at six on Friday." She nodded again, he left, and she leaned back in the chair until she realized that she didn't have a dress.

At the pool, she was distracted, Koari noticed it, and asked her what was wrong, "Huh? Oh..I don't have a dress." She exclaimed loudly, stated that she needed to get one, "I know, tomorrow I will." She nodded satisfied and asked if she had a date, Kiana blushed, "I'm not telling you!"

Haru walked by, "It's Sousuke." Kiana gaped at him, Koari grinned, and nudged her friend, "I can tell."

"Are you a telepath?"

"No." With that he dove into the water and Kiana fumed silently at him as he swam his laps, she took in a deep breath, pulled her goggles on, and tried to follow after him. Sousuke emerged from the locker to see Kiana pull herself out of the water, she coughed, and sat down roughly on the diving block. Her eyes glaring at Haru who only swam casually away from her. When the male she was infatuated with took a seat next to her, her attention immediately went to him.

She massaged his shoulder being very careful of the spots that would make him aroused but sometimes she couldn't control herself. It was one of those times, Sousuke watched her as she sighed, her mind busy on other thoughts, so she didn't realize that she had been massaging a particularly sensitive spot. He clamped his mouth shut to avoid the noise being released, his eyes continued to watch her, and those teal orbs slowly descended into the depths of arousal and lust. He imagined those fingers working on something else, he imagined her body laying beneath his, squirming with need, and her breath near his ear simply whispering his name. His reflex was to pull her close so he could kiss her enticing mouth then shove his tongue between those luscious lips but he pushed her into the water instead, she resurfaced moments later, sputtering out the chlorinated liquid, and she stared at him. An invisible smirk on his face, she glared at him and he said, "That's a good look for your Freckles."

Kiana 'humphed' and turned away from him, goggles were pulled on, and she ducked under the water so that she could swim to clear her head. Rei was on the mounting block that Kiana had been evicted from, "That was an interesting reaction to being aroused."

"Wasn't it?"

"Happened before?"

"No."

"Interesting."

"Are you trying to analyze me Rei?"

"No, just curious. I've seen how you interact with the others you've dated and this is nothing like them. Perhaps you've found it."

"Found what?"

"The missing piece to your life."

"You don't believe in that, you're too logical minded for it."

"True but even I know that there is someone out there for everyone so maybe she's the one. You said a long time ago that you were waiting for someone, perhaps she is that person."

Sousuke sighed, "She's _always_ been that person."

"And you just now figured it out?"

"Yes."

"Better late than never." Sousuke looked up at those lavender eyes, Rei was grinning, "Now you won't be so gloomy around us. She's good for you, I can already tell that being around her is making you open up. Like when you were at Samezuka."

"Good times."

"Especially for you but what about her? Have you asked her what it was like for her when you left?"

"No."

"Well ask her at the party, I'm sure it'll be profoundly interesting." He nodded, mounted the other block, and they both dove into the water; of course Sousuke was still faster because he was in better shape and had an excellent massage therapist. Kiana waved to her friends but was stopped by Sousuke, he leaned down, whispered something, and she nodded. After they parted ways, she texted him that she was home, she received a thumbs up from him.

The following day she had off, Kiana immediately zipped to the mall to find a dress, she was wandering around in her shorts and a pale orange shirt with sandals. She stepped into a random store, began looking through the racks of dresses, decided they weren't her type, and searched through another section. A sigh escaped her lips, she rubbed the back of her head while continuing the search for the elusive semi-formal dress that she needed for the party. Another few stores were marked off her mental list, she paused to munch on a pretzel, and a lemonade she had purchased.

"Fancy meeting you here," came a familiar voice. Mouth was clamped on the pretzel as she turned around to see Seijuro. He was grinning at her, she smiled at him, waved with her hand that held the lemonade, and he couldn't help but tease her. "So you've got a date huh?" Her face turned red, she bit off a piece of pretzel, and chewed it. "Haru told Gou and Gou told me." She nodded, "So what are you doing here?"

Once her mouth was free of food, "Getting a dress. I don't have a semi-formal one so I'm here trying to find one."

"Ah, I'm here shopping with my little brother for some clothes that don't involve tank tops." She chuckled and on cue the other male came running out of a store, Seijuro glanced over at him, and Kiana blinked a few times. "I know, we look so much alike."

"Yeah."

Orange eyes locked with Kiana's blue ones, "Hi, I'm Momotaro but you can call me Momo."

"Kiana Hagano." Her eyes trailed to Seijuro for a brief moment, he was grinning, and texting someone; the phone was put away. "Who did you just text?"

"Nobody." She frowned at him, "You really are observant aren't you?"

"I'm a Criminalist Forensic, I have to be."

Momo grinned, "So you work with Gou?"

"I work more with Rin and Sousuke but I hang with Gou."

"Cool. Come on Seijuro!"

"Yeah, yeah." They walked off for a bit, "Wait, Kiana do you want some company?"

She smiled at the brothers, Momo immediately flushed, "I'm alright. Thank you for the offer though. Go have fun with your brother." He smiled at her, they waved, and she returned those waves while munching on her pretzel once more. Once she finished it, the paper was tossed in the bin, the empty lemonade cup as well, and her eyes scoured the department stores; looking for something of interest. Eventually she picked a random store, entered, and began to look at the dresses; they were always too frilly or too crazy with the colors. Sandaled feet exited the store, she sighed, pulled out her hair tie, and let her curls bounce feely. Fingers ran through them instead of yanking on them to ease her aggravation with finding a dress, "This is why I hate shopping."

"A lady who doesn't like shopping? That's the first time I've come across this," came a male voice. Kiana sitffened, she turned around to see a tall male there, his greenish brown hair spiked away from his face, and his eyes were a dark green. Those orbs stared at her with a glint in them, "What brings you out here alone young lady?" Immediately she fell into her silent nature, turned around, and kept moving forward; she found that this male she didn't like that at all. "Hey wait!" He caught up to her, she glanced up at him from the side, "Can I get your name?" Still silent, "I know you're not mute, come on." Kiana still kept silent, "Well I'm T-"

"Takuya!"

He looked over, "Seijuro! How have you been?" Suddenly Momo appeared out of nowhere on the side of Kiana, he said something to her, and she didn't like the surprise. The instinct kicking in so she hit him with her field bag, Momo complained, and the other males stared.

"I'm sorry Momo!" He waved it off, she turned his face to the left to see if she had left a mark, he stated he was a lot tougher than he looked, she smiled, "Thank goodness for that."

"Why do you that?" asked Seijuro.

"It's a reaction."

He nodded, "Well this buffoon here is a friend of mine from Samezuka. This is Takuya Uozumi." He bowed to her, she did the same, "This is Kiana Hagano but she's off limits." He tilted his head in confusion as did Momotaro but Seijuro left it at that, "You find a dress yet?"

"No." She sighed, "Why does it have to be so hard to find something that's supposed to be so simple?"

"Because you're not looking in the right place." Blue eyes turned in another direction, Sousuke was standing there, and she whipped her head around to glare at Seijuro; who was only grinning. Takuya looked between the two and he suddenly recognized the teal-eyed male, he was ecstatic to see his upper class-man after so long. "How have you been Takuya?"

"I'm good. How about you? What do you do now?"

"Detective."

"I'm a fireman," he said proudly. Kiana looked at everyone who seemed to be connected to one another, she didn't feel out of the loop, on the contrary, to Kiana it felt like an honor to have been included in that loop. Momo draped an arm over her shoulder, she instinctively moved out of it, and he laughed while Seijuro tried to reprimand his brother but it was Sousuke that spoke up.

"Knock it off Momo."

"SOUSUKE! YOU JERK!" The younger Mikoshiba brother ran towards the taller male, "You didn't coach me at Samezuka!"

"You didn't need it. Ai needed it more." He was silent for a bit, "You're still mad about that?" Momo puffed up his cheeks, Kiana stared at the relationship between them, and an involuntary chuckle escaped her lips. Takuya stared at her, she smiled at them, and Sousuke said, "Why are you looking for a dress anyway Kiana?"

"For Koari's party." He only nodded while she looked up at Takuya, "You said you went to Samezuka." He nodded, "When? I only ever saw Sousuke and Rin." Momo gasped, she turned her attention to him, and he stated that she was the one they bumped into while jogging that day. "Yes, that was me." He also stated that she hit one of their members with her satchel, "Yes I did." Momo became ecstatic so he explained that she probably just didn't see Takuya as they rotated jogging days. "I see, I was a first year at Izumi School for Girls."

"Wait, what?" Takuya asked. "You went to Izumi?" She nodded, "Then why would you see Sousuke and Rin? Didn't you stay in the dorms?" She shook her head, "Why?"

"She wanted to spend time with family," replied Sousuke. Her eyes looked at him, curious as to why he would say that for her, and suddenly she saw the glint in his eyes again. That indecipherable glint, she had seen all sorts of emotions run through a male's eyes but this one was one she couldn't understand. Takuya nodded in understanding, "You have a few days to get a dress, why don't you wait?"

"No, it must be done now while I have some free time."

"Do you swim?" asked Takuya.

"I do. At Iwatobi."

"Great! I'll see you there then!" She tilted her head in confusion but Sousuke's glare was felt rather than seen by her and Takuya seemed oblivious to it. "I have to go so I'll see you around Kiana!" He waved, she gave one in return, and watched as he walked off. Seijuro snickered, Kiana looked at Sousuke, and he was still silently fuming.

Another hour drifted by, Kiana found it increasingly difficult to find a dress since Sousuke decided to tag along with the Mikoshiba brothers. Her focus was diverted between them and her goal so when they parted company for a bit, she was able to go into full forensic mode. Her eyes scanned each dress, looking for the right fabric, the right cut, and the right color. She put another back on the rack, her feet danced around the racks, hands moving things around, and she let out a huff. An arm snaked its way around her waist, she stiffened until she felt warm breath on her neck, and her face turned crimson.

"Why don't you let me pick it out?" Kiana stayed silent, unsure of what to do, and Sousuke pulled her closer to his body. Her face darkened, "It'll be easier if you let me choose one since I'm taking you." He felt her body shudder under his touch, he smirked, and lowered his voice, "You're quivering and I haven't even done anything to you, yet, Ki-an-a." She wiggled out of his grasp, her face was still red, bringing out those freckles even more, and he openly smiled, "I _really_ like your freckles." She watched as his eyes roamed down her figure before returning to her face once more, she squeaked, and busied herself with another rack of dresses. He chuckled while Seijuro returned to them, the older brother looked between the two, and stated that Sousuke was flirting too much. "I know."

"So why do it?"

Sousuke relaxed his posture, "I like her reactions to my teasing."

"I can understand. I like to do it to Gou as well, it's just so satisfying!" He nodded in agreement, Kiana had her back towards them, she looked across the store, and spotted something on the far wall. She headed in that direction, "I think she found something!" Momo had arrived just in time as she crossed the store to the other side and immediately looked at what had caught her eye. She removed one from the rack, looked it over, smiled briefly at it, and headed for the dressing room; all before the others could see what she had obtained. She changed, stared at herself, the scales were revealed on her left arm but she didn't care, it was the color and style that she liked. "You coming out?"

"No."

"Why not?! I wanna see!"

"Not until the party."

"Women." Kiana changed back into her clothes, she folded the dress neatly, held it to her chest, and headed out of the changing room. She made her way to the shoes, "Really? Why do women need a pair of shoes every time they get a new dress?"

"I don't know about other women but I don't have any that match." Seijuro laughed as she gave a small smile, "I only buy what I need and nothing more. I just don't feel the need to spend money on clothes or shoes all the time."

"Then what do you spend your money on?" asked Momo.

"Hm?" She looked up at the ceiling then returned her blue eyes to him, "Food."

"What kind of food?"

She grinned and Momo became flustered, "Food for a chubby whaleshark." Sousuke felt his face heat up slightly, she returned to looking at the shoes, and Seijuro nudged the taller male while Momo laughed but suddenly that laugh halted. He glanced between the two in question then to his brother who only nodded, Momo gave a mock wail of sadness since the other person he was interested in was already taken. The younger one approached her, asked her what she thought of Sousuke, and she smiled while quietly stating, "I'm sorry Momo but my heart belongs to him."

"Since when?"

"Since he stuck up for me that day."

"That's a long time." She nodded, "You guys still aren't dating?" She shook her head, "That sucks. Why not?" She shrugged, "Well maybe something at the party will happen." Kiana asked if he was going, "Of course I'm going!" A chuckled came from Kiana as he grinned, "I'll also see you at Iwatobi tomorrow. Seijuro said that you swim backstroke just like the both of us."

"I'm learning but I'm more suited to be underwater like a seal."

"Is that you're spirit animal?"

"I guess."

"I'm known as the Sea Otter of Japan!"

Kiana grinned, "That's why you're so good at doing backstroke." Momo smirked as she picked up some beige heels, "These should do." She tried them on, they were comfortable even with the three inch heel, the slope was fine, and she walked around a bit in them, nodded, and replaced them in the box. Once she had her two items, she looked at Momo, "I'm done." Kiana paid for them and the four left the store, she sighed, "This is why I hate shopping. It takes all day just to find one item."

"What about your clothes growing up?" asked Sousuke.

"Mom picked them all out for me but none of them are suited for semi-formal wear. It's alright, I don't mind doing this once in a while." He nodded, they exited the mall, Seijuro and Momo both asked where her car was. "I don't have a car, I use a Vespa." It was Momotaro that spotted the baby blue scooter with the seal sticker on it. He stated that he liked it, she smiled, "I do too." Her phone rang, she picked it up, "Hagano." Her face changed to one of amusement, "No. I told you that I wasn't going food shopping or cooking for you for a month. I only purchase what is necessary." There was a complaint on the other, "Nope. You're going to order out or take Mom out because I refuse." Kiana stood her ground which made Sousuke smirk, "No Dad. Not only did you destroy the kitchen, you made a mess of the oven, and wasted food that I could have used to make Shephard's Pie." Kiana chuckled, "I warned you about aggravating my ataxaphobia, you're just lucky you weren't home to be hit with a rolling pin." She stood by her scooter while the males listened to her, her eyes darkened, "No and why did you do that anyway?" There was laughter on the other end, "I see so you've been stalking me at work huh?" He stated it was his job, "What if I told Mom what you were doing? Hm? She said that he was on probation, maybe I should tell her." He began to plead with her, she laughed, "I'm kidding Dad. Just order in. I'm sure you'll survive for another few weeks." He stated that he loved her, "I love you too. Bye."

The moment when she said her phobia, Momotaro asked Seijuro but he shrugged so Sousuke filled them in on what it was and what she did when someone upset the balance. The Mikoshiba brothers stared at her, she continued talking to her father until it was time for her to say farwell. The three males waited patiently for her to finish, Sousuke most of all, and watched as she put her phone away.

She gave an exasperated sigh, "Something wrong?" Her eyes looked at Sousuke, she smiled, and shook her head, "Being a child again?" She nodded and he leaned towards her, immediately Seijuro saw how she stiffened, "Who can blame him? Your cooking is really good." Kiana's face flushed once more, he smiled, leaned to the one side where the Mikoshiba brothers couldn't see, and he placed a kiss near her ear. His voice was husky, "I look forward to tasting something else of yours sometime, if you'll let me." Kiana stated that she had to go, she waved to them, thanked them for hanging out with her, and Seijuro grinned as they returned the wave. They watched as she wrapped her hair up in a bun, put her bag away in the seat of the scooter, and then zipped off as fast as it would take her. Momo asked why he teased her so much, "She's just irresistible."

-::::::-

After work the following day, she was at the club, her bag had been placed on the bench, and she saw Sousuke already sitting by the pool. Kiana took a deep breath, sat on the diving block, and began to massage his shoulder. "Did I embarrass you yesterday?"

"Yes."

"Sorry."

"It's okay as long as you're the one doing it." Sousuke watched her soft expression, it made her eyes glisten like the ocean, and she continued to work his shoulder. "But don't do it too often."

"Or else?" She didn't say anything, instead she smirked, pushed on that sensitive spot, and he clamped his mouth shut to avoid moaning. "One day you'll regret doing that." She shrugged, "What if that day was now?" She shrugged again, "You don't seem like you're ready for anything," his voice dropped to a whisper, "little virgin." Kiana immediately glared at him, massaged that spot roughly, and Sousuke covered his face with his free hand to block the sounds trying to escape from his mouth as well as the light blush that played across his cheeks. Teal eyes stared at her, there was a smirk on her face, and a devilish light in her eyes which only made his blood run hot.

She leaned forward and whispered, "What's the matter? Are you feverish?" He only stared at her, unable to move because he knew if he did then he would be exposed to all his friends as well. "Your skin became a few degrees hotter. Do you need me to take care of you?" He felt his blood begin to boil in his veins at her voice, so quiet, so alluring, and it didn't help that he focused on her scrumptious lips. They curled into a smirk, "It seems you're having a difficult time, do you need me to massage another part of your body Sou-su-ke?" Eyes snapped onto her blue ones, they stared at those lagoons, and he reached his right arm around her so that she was pulled towards him. Instead of kissing her, like she thought he would, he pushed her into the water. Kiana resurfaced, glared at him, and he smirked, "What was that for?"

"You might want to swim now." Immediately she pulled on her goggles, dove under water, and swam away from him. He sighed, ran a hand through his hair, and saw Rin take a seat next to him, "It's rough."

"But you're enjoying it." He nodded, "It seems she _does_ know how to flirt."

"That wasn't flirting. That was plain teasing."

Rin laughed, "I know man. I saw the whole thing, it was hilarious how she turned the tables on you."

"She told me that she spent five years as a kitchen girl in a brothel."

"Oh...that would explain her mannerisms with you then." Sousuke looked at his best friend with a questioning gaze, "I always wondered why she was so shy around you when she clearly likes you but from what you just told me, it makes sense now. She knows what men do to women, she can see when your eyes are clouded by arousal or lust but other emotions, I don't think she understands so she doesn't know how to deal with them."

"Yeah."

A male took to standing on the diving block between them, it was Haru, he took his position, and simply stated, "There are many chapters to read in the book of Kiana but only certain ones are open whereas others are sealed." He jumped into the water, Rin and Sousuke stared at his departing form, and the two only shook their heads.

However Kiana surfaced near the edge of the pool near Momotaro and that voice from the prior day made the younger Mikoshiba grin, "Kiana! You really are here!" She looked to see Takuya standing there, he was smiling, "You really do swim!" She paddled away from him only to bump into Momo, the orange haired male grinned, and stated that he wanted to race.

"I'm not that good at backstroke."

"Nonsense! Let's see your skill!" exclaimed the younger brother. Takuya said that he wanted to join in as well, it made her a bit anxious but Kiana nodded to Momo, so they made their way back to the diving blocks, and prepared themselves. Seijuro watched the three of them prepare themselves, he counted, and told them to start. Kiana pushed off from the wall, dove into the water, and began to swim as she had against Yuri but without the determination since nothing was at stake here; she also knew she wasn't strong enough even though she had plenty of stamina. She reached the other side, flipped, and headed back; she slapped the wall. Kiana surfaced, breathing heavily, the goggles were pulled down, and she looked at Momo who was grinning. "You did really good! And you even looked like a seal under there!" She smiled, Seijuro helped her out of the water, she sat down, while Sousuke mounted the block next to her, she glanced up, and looked away quickly as her eyes had focused on his torso. He smirked, Rin mounted up followed by Rei, and the three began their laps. "You really like him huh?"

Kiana looked at Momotaro, she smiled, and nodded, "Yes."

"Does he know?"

"He knows I like him."

"Does he know that you love him?"

Her eyes widened, "Is it that obvious?!"

"Yes."

"No, he doesn't. I'm not brave enough to tell him the truth of how I feel."

"Which is?"

"That I need his attention, his and only his. It's how it was in high school, until he left..."

"You don't have to say anymore." She smiled warmly at the younger brother, "I'm still mad that two of the women I like are already taken!" Kiana stated that he'd find his soon enough, "Yeah, we'll see." They were quiet as the males moved to the other side once more, "Who taught you backstroke?" She stated that Makoto did as well as Seijuro, "Awesome!" She laughed, Koari came up behind her, and stated that she saw what she did to Sousuke.

Her face flushed while Momo laughed, "It was really awesome! I'm so glad you're opening up!"

"I'm not. He just said something that pushed me a bit too far is all."

"What did he say?"

"Said I wasn't ready for anything then called me a little virgin. It made me so angry so I had to vent my frustration in the only way I know how." She paused, "Sexually tease him to the point where he'll break."

"How do you know that?"

"Before my Dad rescued me, I spent five years as a kitchen girl in a brothel. I _know_ things." Momo was shocked and Koari grinned, "It's okay. It wasn't a happy time then but I'm a lot better now. Maybe I could heal more if I could just dig up the courage to tell him the truth."

"You'll be alright. I'm going have lots of games there! Nice, cute little games like Spin the Bottle, Truth or Dare, and Seven Minutes in Heaven."

"Those aren't cute games!"

"I know but it's going to be great!"

"Why semi-formal?"

"I like to dress up once in a while. Besides it makes everything more alluring." Kiana only nodded as Sousuke surfaced near her, again he had won, and he pulled down his goggles to look up at her, she stared into those teal lagoons before glancing away with a blush on her face. He smirked, Koari stated that she had to go, and Takuya came up behind her.

Kiana glanced over her shoulder at him, "Yes?"

"Let's get a drink after this. You and me."

"No thank you. I have work in the morning."

"Aww, come on! Not even one?"

"No. Sorry Takuya."

"Is it because you're seeing someone and you're trying to be polite?"

"Sort of." Kiana knew that Sousuke was right there next to her in the water, even he was a bit surprised that she would say that, and Takuya asked who it was. "He's a work colleague." The reason why she was being so roundabout was because she didn't want to let Takuya know who it was exactly because she wasn't sure how Sousuke felt even though he was flirting with her. They really weren't a couple as of yet since they had yet to say anything to one another on the matter.

"Well what do you mean 'sort of' anyway?"

"We flirt with one another but haven't had some free time to actually go on a date. Work is very busy this time of year with spring break."

"I see. When will you know if you're serious?"

"Only time can tell. You should focus your efforts on someone else who doesn't have an interest in someone already."

Takuya grinned, "I really like you Kiana. You're straight forward and to the point. See you around." She nodded, waved to him, and when he was out of earshot; she exhaled. Suddenly she felt a very warm hand on her exposed thigh, by this time Takuya looked back to watch the pair, and smirked. "So that's who her work colleague is eh. Best of luck because I'm still going to try."

Her face only stared at that hand, it gently caressed her thigh, her eyes trailed to his teal irises, and she could see an emotion that she didn't understand. She furrowed her brow together in thought, without a single word, Sousuke pulled her into the water, and she surfaced moments later. He wrapped his arms around her, she had her palms on his pectoral muscles to keep some distance between them but she tried her hardest to ignore how firm they were, how good that particular muscle group felt under the palms of her hands, and Gou had her phone out; snapping pictures. They stared at one another until Sousuke placed a kiss on her forehead, she kept her eyes open, and he returned to staring at her. "Thank you Kiana," he whispered.

"For what?" came her quiet inquiry. He only smiled as he released her, he pulled himself out of the water, she pulled her goggles on, and began to swim under the water just like a seal. Her mind was running rampant with thoughts of what he could possibly be thanking her for and nothing came up that seemed plausible. _The party is going to be exciting and embarrassing, I can already tell._

-::::::-

Blue eyes sparkled at the thought of wearing something different to work, so she pulled on a cream colored oxford shirt with red dots on it, she buttoned it up but left the top two undone to show off a bit of her cleavage. Snug jeans were pulled on over her body and she made sure to have her brown ankle boots by the door every night so that she would be ready in the morning. She ran a hand through her curls, grabbed a hair tie, and wrapped it all up in a bun. She left the sections that would have been her fringe to fall against her chest, a smile was on her face, and she felt giddy inside; her stomach was doing somersaults. Eventually she covered her face in her hands, unable to look at herself anymore for fear of blushing madly, and that was all due in part to Haru's text that morning. She removed her hands, chuckled, and whispered, "Show off some skin." Kiana sighed with a smile, "He really is like a brother."

Freckled hands grabbed her field bag, forensic satchel, two bentos, and beach bag; the morning routine was finished and she headed out early to start coffee. Inside the break room, she was placing the grinds in the filter, added water, and started the machine; she made her way to her office. The door was pushed open, she stared at the mess, her eye twitched; pens were strewn across the floor, containers knocked over, and what put the icing on top was the three boxes of evidence. They had been checked out at night, never returned, and now it appeared as if they were contaminated, she stepped in, her foot hit a beer can, eyes traveled across the floor to see many empty cans with a case, and her chest began to heave rapidly. Her phone was whipped out, she snapped pictures for evidence to show the damage done.

Immediately she exited, locked the door, strode straight to the evidence locker, and knocked on the counter; the officer appeared. "Good morning Hagano! What can I do for you?" He noticed her breathing, "Oh...what happened?" She kept trying to calm herself, "It's okay. Take your time." She nodded her thanks, once she was able to focus her mind, he watched as a hand was placed over her chest, a physical motion to portray that she was calm. "Alright. Tell me."

"There are three boxes of evidence were checked out last night." He nodded, "They're still in the forensic office and it's a complete mess. The lids are askew, empty beer cans everywhere, like someone had a party in there."

"Can you take pictures for me?" She removed her phone, handed it to him, and he flipped through them, "I'm glad you took these."

"I locked the door before I came here because I'm _going_ to find out who did this."

"Well I can give you the name of the officer who checked out the evidence." She nodded and he flipped the page over, "Here we go. Hasegawa." Kiana shook her head, the other officer joined in, and stated, "That idiot didn't return evidence even though he's the on that checked it out."

"He's not the brightest crayon in the box." Suddenly there was laughter in front of her, the man was laughing, she gave a small smile, "Maybe even not the sharpest tool in the shed." He howled, "I don't like to make fun of others but...this...it's too much."

He composed himself, "I know Hagano. I'm sorry. What are you going to do?"

There was a sweet smile on her face but he knew better, "I'm going to confront him and Yuri since I know they're the ones that did this but I'm really curious as to who has the other key to the forensic room."

"The night forensic."

"Who is that?"

"Michiro Ito."

"Thank you. Where can I find Mister Ito?"

"He might be coming in today to speak with Chief."

Again that sweet smile, "Thank you very much!"

"You're very welcome. If anyone can save that evidence, it's you." She looked at him surprised, "You're best forensic. Also, Detective Hanasaki and Detective Ichinose will be visiting this morning with Ito, something about unfinished business with the evidence."

A warm smile, "Thank you."

"You're very welcome and thank you for making coffee!" She chuckled, bade him good day, and headed back; she passed by Rin and Sousuke who watched her. Behind them were Ichinose and Hanasaki.

"Kiana?" asked Rin, she didn't falter in her steps, she went straight to her office. "Uh oh. What happened?" Sousuke shrugged and Rin looked at the three over his shoulder, "You three had better not done anything to her office." With that they all followed after her, she had the key in her hand, and she took in a few breaths to steady herself, then opened it. Magenta eyes widened, "What the hell happened here?!" She turned around to look at Rin, "Kiana...do you need help?"

"No," it was warm but laced with venom. She may not have known what the other three looked like but she could guess that they were nearby. So she put her bag on the ground, removed some gloves, and began to pick up the items on the floor. By now, the other three peeked in to watch her, she was dusting the cans for fingerprints, she found some, and used that special tape to capture them.

"Who is she?" asked a male with red hair and orange eyes.

"That is Kiana Hagano, our day forensic, Ken," stated Rin. "She's pissed." Sousuke nodded, as they watched her clean everything up as evidence, she even logged it on a sheet of paper, "How can she remember where everything was?"

"She has an uncanny memory Ken Hanasaki." The all turned around to see Akira standing there, he was smiling at them, but they knew better, that wasn't a pleased smile. "Kiana?" She stood up, turned around to look at her father, his brown eyes flashed darkly. "Log it all and take it to the evidence room for safe keeping then work on getting those three boxes decontaminated. They're very important so do what you can."

"Yes sir."

As she turned back around, the others looked at Akira, "That's my adopted daughter so I would be _very_ careful."

"You're not allowed to abuse your power," stated a male that had black hair and black eyes.

"Oh I'm not saying that I'm going to abuse my power Ito but this is just a warning to not cross Kiana's phobia. You'll regret it and I won't put her on probation or suspension, she's just too good at her job. Same goes for Matsuoka and Yamazaki. Have fun dealing with her!" With that returned to his office while they watched her, the office had been cleaned up, and she logged the evidence in a box. An envelope with the date and transgression was set aside, the box was picked up, she nudged her beach bag into the office with her foot, turned around, pulled the door closed, and locked it.

She took a few steps, turned around, and asked, "Which one of you is Michiro Ito?" Sousuke smirked, the male with black stepped forward, arrogance tainting his posture, and she stated flatly, "Don't move." Kiana walked to the evidence locker, logged the box, the man was only too happy to put it away safely, and was on her way back when they saw her stop. Her eyes riveted onto her other target, Tsutomu Hasegawa, and his father was right behind him. "Hasegawa." This drew both of their attentions to her, Tsutomu's father stared at her, "Younger Hasegawa, if the evidence supports the disaster that I just cleaned up, you're in for it regardless if your father is the Lieutenant." The male in question paled, a light sweat formed on his brow, she turned those eyes onto Michiro, "The same goes for you Ito."

The older Hasegawa asked, "What happened?"

"Three boxes of evidence that belong to the Satohiro Case have been compromised because _someone_ had too much fun in the forensic office with _someone else_ and then another _someone_ didn't log the boxes back in overnight. So, I will do what I can to save it from disaster so that we can catch the real culprits." She turned away from them and headed back but paused as the Lieutenant asked a question. Akira popped out of his office to watch everything with twinkling brown eyes.

"Why go through all the trouble? You may not be able to save it if it's been compromised that much."

"It's my job to help Iwatobi Police put criminals behind bars not innocent people. The evidence may suggest a framing and I won't allow it. I do what I do because I want to see Iwatobi as a place of peace and beauty where others come to enjoy our town without fear. So that they know they can rely on the police here to keep peace and order. If we don't do that then what good are we to this town?" She walked off, headed towards the two men she did know, and the three she didn't; yet she stopped by Michiro. "You didn't return the evidence last night, you didn't lock the door or, if you did, you misplaced the key." Her voice was dark, the male visibly gulped, "Did you not read the sticky notes everywhere?"

"I read them but-"

"You didn't heed them. You thought they were a joke." He began to sweat as her blue eyes blazed into his dark ones, Sousuke was watching with great interest as were the others, "You're a poor excuse for a forensic." Michiro was shaking at the tone of her voice, her posture, he could tell that she was ready to do something to him but before she could do anything else, Sousuke intervened by grabbing her waist from behind, and pulling her back against his chest. Immediately she relaxed, looked up at him, those teal lagoons stared at her, trying to convey what he wanted without the use of words. Kiana sighed, glared at him, "You got off lucky today." She was released, entered the office, threw her gloves in the trash then brought out new ones, "If none of you are needed here then leave. I'll come to you."

Ichinose and Hanasaki with Ito were taken to the detectives' office, once sat in there, Rin looked at them, "What happened Michiro? It's not like you to have a party in there."

"Well Tsutomu said that he wanted to check out the evidence then he brought Yuri and her friend and well.." He gave a nervous laugh as he scratched the back of his head, "One thing lead to another and I found myself getting laid." He grinned while the other detectives shook their heads, "What? I'm not entitled to get some sex once in a while?!"

"You are but _not_ in the office where we conduct important research," all eyes turned to the door. She entered, looked at Sousuke, "May I borrow a pen? All of mine _mysteriously_ vanished and if they turn up, I don't want them." Rin asked why, she looked at him, "I have no idea where they've been and I don't want to _think_ about the places they could have gone."

Sousuke chuckled which brought the attention of the others, "Sure Freckles. Here you go, take your pick." Blue eyes looked at the pens, he wondered what she was searching for, and then she found it; it had a red barrell that could be refilled. "Good choice." Kiana looked at the desk then to him, the canister was put down, "You can keep it." She stared at him, "Just don't lose it." Her eye softened and she murmured that she wouldn't, he nodded, "Go on. You've got a lot of work to do before noon." She stared at him, "We need that evidence by noon." Kiana zipped out of the office so fast that Rin thought she was on her Vespa.

"Can you she even do it?" asked Ken.

"If anyone can, it's her," replied Sousuke.

"Are you two dating?" He looked at him, "I mean the way you two interact, it's weird. I don't think I've ever seen you act like that."

"So I've been told." Another male leaned forward, he had light brown hair that swept away from his face and hazel eyes, "What is it Touya?"

"If you're not dating then can I go out with her." Rin burst into laughter, he looked at him, "What?" He only kept laughing, "What's so funny?!"

Rin grinned, "You can try but you won't make it."

"Why's that?"

"Hasegawa failed, what makes you think you could succeed?" asked the whaleshark.

Touya stared in disbelief and Michiro asked, "Tsutomu failed?! How is that possible?!" All this talk had occurred within a half hour, and two minutes later Kiana entered. He looked up at her, "What do you want?"

"Hand it over." Rin glanced at her left hand, it was wrapped in that leather strap again, he snickered, Sousuke glanced at it, and Michiro stated that he didn't know what she was talking about. "I said to hand it over." She slowly moved behind Sousuke towards the other forensic, he leaned back, shook his head, and immediately there was pain in his face.

"What the hell woman?!" He toppled out of his chair, got up immediately, and found that she had already started digging through his pockets, all with gloves on, and he he tried to struggle. Kiana kicked the back of his knee, grabbed the back of his neck, and he fell forward on the desk. He gasped, "What is your problem?!" A small bag was removed from his jacket, she moved passed him, behind Sousuke again, and paused in the doorway. He got up, pulled his coat on, and growled at her but her eyes lost that gleam; they became dangerous.

"Tamper with evidence by mistake or intention will not be tolerated."

"I didn't know!"

"Check your pockets before you leave. Or, better yet, return the boxes when you've finished with them so others can get work done."

"What are you going to do to me? Hm?"

"Do you know how they get anti-venom for poisonous snakes?"

"No. Do you?" A sly smirk slid across her face, Sousuke stared at her, he felt his jeans tighten, and was thankful that he was sitting down at the moment. Kiana left the room, they heard her door shut, and Michiro sighed, "That girl's crazy."

After hours, it was mid-morning, Sousuke opened his duffel bag, pulled out two coffee mugs, the others saw that one had a whaleshark and the other a seal. He left the office, entered the break room, made coffee, and headed to her office. Ken asked what he was doing and Rin replied with a smirk, "Catching up." They asked him what it meant, "Sorry. You're not close enough friends to know the truth."

A knock, "It's me." Kiana got up, opened the door, he entered, and noticed that she closed it behind him; the lock was flipped. The blinds had even been drawn, he saw her work space, it was neat but things were being cleaned, analyzed, and analyzed again. "You have it tough. There's only one hour left." He sat down as far away from her work as possible, set the two mugs down, and she was going to take a seat but he grabbed her wrist gently. He guided her so that she sat on his lap, her body perpendicular to his so that her legs draped over one thigh, she looked at him, and realized it allowed her to be level with him. "That's better right?"

She blushed, looked away, grabbed her cup, he took his, and they both enjoyed their coffee in silence, "Morons. All of them."

"Hanasaki and Ichinose are good detectives but sometimes it gets skewed when they don't have someone who is strong willed behind them." Kiana looked at him, he was openly smiling since the blinds had been drawn, and she tilted her head slightly. "You, you're strong willed so you keep us on our toes as well."

Kiana sipped her coffee, "Can I ask you something?" He nodded, "Why me?"

"Hm?"

She looked at him with that same intense gaze she had done the first time all those years ago, "Why do you flirt with me? I'm sure there are others who might be better suited to your taste." Kiana looked away to stare at the floor, "I have a weird phobia and an equally weird reaction to it. I don't understand a lot of things still and I really only know when arousal or lust is present." She paused, "So..why me? Why choose me as your lighthouse?"

He understood the lighthouse reference as Gou had texted to him some time ago, a way to get them together before he had his epiphany, and he set his coffee mug on the counter. He took hers, placed it next to his own, and said, "Face me." Kiana got up, straddled him in the chair, and blushed profusely but didn't look away as he stared into her ocean irises. He leaned in close to her ear so that no one else, not even the evidence could hear him, only the half-Irish woman. "Go to the movies with me." Kiana watched as he leaned back, "Saturday night." Her blush darkened, he smirked, "I know you like me, you said so yourself so why are you blushing?"

It took all of her willpower to not look down which would reveal why she was blushing, she could very much feel him there, and it made her insides turn to jello. "Okay." He raised an eyebrow at her, "I'll go with you Saturday night." Sousuke nodded, she was about to get up but he wrapped his arms around her body, and pulled her to his torso. He felt her breasts squish against his chest, he wondered briefly what it would feel like to hold her in her swimsuit but then it traveled to what it would be like to hold her naked and squirming. She froze, his warmth permeated to her core, she wrapped her arms around his neck, and unconsciously buried her face into the crook of his neck. Sousuke was still smirking but he stopped when she inhaled quietly, smelling him, and his face flushed so he kept holding her until it abated. She turned her head, trailed her nose up the area behind his ear, he felt his body tingle at the sensation, Kiana moved slightly so she could do something while she had the courage, and placed her lips on the very edge of his ear; a gentle, feather light kiss.

Sousuke immediately put her at arms length, she looked at his eyes, clouded by arousal but she could see he was trying to control it, and she looked away; embarrassed. He brought her to him, kissed her forehead, and she looked at him sheepishly. "Don't do it again otherwise..." She nodded vehemently, he chuckled, trailed his eyes down to her chest, "Oh, one more thing." Kiana watched him as he buttoned up her shirt. "Hide them...for me," his voice was quiet, she smiled warmly at him, and nodded. "Good. Back to work although I'm sure you're more invigorated." She laughed which drew his attention to her bust but quickly glanced up at her as she stopped, Kiana got off of him, he stood up, grabbed his mug, finished his coffee, and she did the same. He took them, "I'll come get you when it's time." She nodded again, watched as he left the office, and she didn't bother locking it as her mind went into overdrive with the evidence.

Noon rolled around, a knock on the door, it creaked open, she had just finished with the evidence, closed the final folder, and stacked them neatly. The boxes were stacked up as well and Sousuke peered inside, she nodded, the door was opened fully. He took the boxes but she looked up at him with worry tinting her eyes, he said that he was fine, so they headed to the evidence locker, and the officer was grinning as he logged it. They both waved to him and walked down the hall towards Akira's office, they entered, followed by the others. He looked at everyone present, "Alright, this is a big case because of the high profile people involved so tell me what you've got. Ito, Hanasaki, and Ichinose; speak up." They told him their findings, Kiana shook her head, his gaze turned to them, "Alright, you three?" Everything matched up except the forensics which Kiana stated plainly.

"Hey! How can yours be any different than mine?!"

"You missed that little bag I found." He stared at her, "That's the smoking gun, fingerprints, skin samples, all of it is in there along with blood. Of course it would have been lost if I hadn't found it crushed into the corner of the third box." At this everyone stared at her, she lied so that he wouldn't get suspended or worse, lose his job. She turned her gaze onto her father, "It's easy to overlook a small bag but that's why I go through it many times and take each piece out separately."

"I know. Very good, so now we have suspects-"

"Culprits." He stared at his adopted daughter and she slid the folder to him, "This is all the proof that you need to put him behind bars for a long time, maybe even go to trial but the jury has all the evidence there. Maybe they'll settle out of court, who knows."

"This is!" exclaimed the Chief as he looked at the evidence, "You ran this?"

"Multiple times to be sure and it came up the same without a doubt." Another folder was slid to him, "This is the person responsible for tainting the evidence and the office."

He opened it, "Hasegawa, I should have known, with Yuri no less." Again they stared at her, she nodded, "Very well. I'll get right on this. Hanasaki, Ichinose, this is your case go get him." The folder was tossed to them, when they opened it up they were shocked at the amount of information there, and turned their gaze onto Kiana. She nodded to them, "Alright. Let's go!"

They left the office, Michiro stopped her in the hall, he looked at her, and she gave him a small smile, "We all need to work together from now on because if we don't then we'll be too busy fighting one another to do this town any good." He nodded to her, she left him, and headed to her office to grab the bentos so she could eat with her friends. Until she thought about the date she had, she blushed, texted Gou and Koari, to which both women sent her a picture of them squealing. She laughed, grabbed the two bentos, and headed to the detectives' office with Gou jumping on her back in a hug.


	7. Kisses

**Disclaimer:** I do not own _Free! Iwatobi Swim Club_ or any of the characters portrayed in it, they belong to Koji Oji, I simply own the character named Kiana Hagano, some others thrown in, and that is all. This was inspired by a a spur of the moment idea (don't judge me XD ) so I hope you all enjoy it as much as I do writing it. (Thank you for the first review. ^-^)

 **Chapter 7** \- Kisses

Feet stepped out of the shower, a towel wrapped around the soft body, and long curly hair that was being dried with terry fabric. The towel that was in use for her hair was placed on a rack, a hair dryer removed from a drawer, plugged in, and turned on. Kiana didn't have a choice but to use the machine, she disliked it because it caused her hair to be more voluminous which, in turn, made it far more fluffier. She ran a brush through it to help dry out the strands, once it was done, a grueling fifteen minutes, and that was just another reason she hated it. She unplugged it, set it aside on the sink, and stared at it; wondering what she could do with it to make it more manageable that evening. Her mind rolled through the scenarios of styles that she could do, she settled on one with a smile, opened up another drawer, it held various hair combs and clips that were used for stylizing. Fingers grabbed the bit of hair that would have been her top most fringe if it was cut short, mixed it with some from the back, then twirled it into a bun, she took a comb that she had that was green with a white lotus on it, and pushed it into the bun. It held in place then she secured it with the matching hair pins, the small lotus decorations dangled from the ends, she liked it, and closed the drawer.

Another was pulled open, her eyes roamed over the cosmetics that she rarely used, just on special occasions, and since it was a semi-formal party in a fancy hotel, she assumed she would need some, and exhaled. "I hate putting this stuff on so I'll just use some lipstick and eye shadow, I don't need anything else." Kiana took various shades of green with a bit of black and began to apply it to her eyelids, to give them a wickedly enticing green smoke effect. She put on just a thin line of the black cream eye liner then put it away, she looked over the various red shades of lipstick in her drawer, and settled on one called 'Crimson Love.' It was actually her favorite one because of how deep and sparkly the color was, she cleaned her teeth thoroughly first, dried her face then applied the lipstick. She ran her hands along her legs to make sure they were extra smooth, her arms, and underarms; once happy with it, she applied anti-antiperspirant to her underarms. Before she left her bathroom, she applied two drops of light floral perfume onto either side of her neck just behind her ears, and exited but not before the towel around her body was removed and placed on its hangar.

The dress was laid out, her shoes downstairs, she picked it up, a smile curled her lips, it was a beige satin dress that curved at the top where her breasts were, dipped down towards the back, tucked in at the waist, and flared out just a little towards the knees where the hem ended. There was a lace overlay of thin green vines and leaves that molded to the dress but ended two inches past the hem of the beige satin with a separate satin green sash for the waist. She put on her teal undergarments, which were lace as well, her strapless bra held in place, and Kiana stepped into the dress. The back was secured, luckily it just covered her bra strap, the sash was tied snugle in the front to make a perfect bow, then spun around to the back where she used her mirror to center it. Kiana made sure to move just her bare necessities to a small golden evening purse, the strap was made of thin metal, she put it on one shoulder, grabbed her matching green silk shawl then wrapped it around her shoulders to cover her upper torso, and took in a deep breath. Her heart was beating harshly against her rib cage, she quickly did a little jig in joy before pausing, and laughed at herself.

"I really am excited or anxious. I'm not sure which. I just hope I didn't overdress for the occasion," she whispered to herself. The small evening purse was big enough to hold her wallet, phone, and house keys; she exited her room. Closed the door, headed down the hall, and made her appearance to her mother and father. "Well? How do I look?" She made sure to paint her nails on her hands and feet as soon as she got home from work that day, the color was a shimmery pale pink, just enough to be noticeable if one stared hard enough at it. Both of her parents stared at her, Akira gawked, she chuckled, and Aoi stood up with her phone ready, "No! I'm not pretty!" She covered her face with her hands while her mother still took pictures even though Aoi knew she was joking by the smile prevalent on her face.

Her hands revealed her face so there could be a decent picture taken, "You look beautiful our little Selkie." Aoi was grinning, she hugged her, "Just have some fun alright?"

"I'll try."

"So who's picking you up? Is it Haru or Nagisa?"

"No." She chuckled, "It's Sousuke."

"What?!"

Kiana nodded, "He's taking me to the movies tomorrow night too."

Aoi smirked, "Good. He's off probation so be sure to tell him that for me." She nodded, "Now, he's coming here when?" She stated six, "You're early, that's good. Just a little bit of makeup to attract attention but not so much that it draws away from your natural Irish beauty." Akira stood up, hugged her, and patted her head but he was careful of the decorations. "Our little Selkie all grown up!"

The half-Irish woman laughed, "Yes." They all laughed and then there was a chime on her phone, suddenly she became very bashful, Aoi calmed her down as she texted him to let him know that she was coming out soon, and she was told that everything would be alright. "I know, I'm just..." her voice fell so that only her mother could hear, "He told me that he likes me and I told him that I like him too." Her mother put a hand over her mouth to stop any kind of squealing from happening, Kiana chuckled, hugged her mother, "I'll be fine."

"Yes, I know." Aoi stated louder so that Akira could hear her since he went to the kitchen, "Don't worry if you come home too late, we won't hear you since you're so quiet." She nodded, "Very good! But if you happen to stay somewhere else just text us so we know." She nodded again with a soft smile, Aoi hugged her, "Go make him realize what he's missed over the last years." Kiana laughed, bid her parents farewell, exited the apartment, they closed the door behind her, and both of them squealed with joy although Aoi made fun of Akira for his was far more feminine.

Kiana emerged from the stairwell, he was parked on the side, leaning against his black sports car, looking up at the twilight sky, and she immediately noted that he wore a black undershirt with a navy blue long-sleeved button down shirt that was untucked with dark blue jeans. She approached with her heels clicking lightly on the pavement, immediately his eyes were drawn to her, she noticed that they widened ever so slightly, she paused in front of him, and glanced away. "I hope you weren't waiting long." He was silent, happy to indulge his mind in memorizing how she looked at at the moment even if she was looking away from him. When she didn't get an immediate response, her eyes swiveled back to his, "Sousuke?"

He blinked, brought out of his admiration, his features softened, "No, I wasn't waiting long. Let's go." He opened the door for her, she got in, thanked him, and he proceeded to the other side. Once buckled up, he drove off towards the direction of the hotel, and her eyes noticed that the navigation was on. "I don't know where it is." She nodded in understanding, the drive was quiet for a bit, "You look beautiful." His eyes never left the road, she stared at him, gave a warm smile, and couldn't help the butterflies in her stomach.

 _Butterflies...like the stroke he swims,_ she thought. Kiana stifled a chuckle, she didn't want to explain that thought out loud, especially to him. "Thank you. You're handsome in a rugged I-don't-care-about-this-dress-code-so-I'm-going-to-do-my-own-thing kind of way." She was rewarded with a short laugh from him, her eyes stared at him, and her face blushed as she glanced away from him; the masculine sound of it making those butterflies multiply.

"You smell nice too." Her face turned even more red, she couldn't stare at him, so she stared at the road they were taking, he turned the car, they paused at a red light, and knew it was going to take longer due to the traffic at that hour. It was a long light so he turned his face to stare at her, "Why are you blushing?" Kiana bit her lower lip, he smirked, "You're really shy."

"That's because I...don't know how to act around you," came her quiet reply.

"Hm? What do you mean?"

"It's just..." she huffed which drew his attention to her hidden chest, "I don't know how to word it."

"Take your time, we have all night, and if you can't tell me tonight then tomorrow." She nodded, "Relax, you're tense."

She gave him a perfect three-quarter view which allowed him to see the decorations in her hair, the light smokey green makeup that she applied to her eyes, and those shining rouge lips; even her burns were lovely to him at that angle. "I'm not tense. I'm just anxious and you cause butterflies in my stomach which is why I act shy." She quickly looked away from him, the last bit wasn't meant to come out, and he gave a soft smile.

"Hey." She ignored him, "Look at me." Kiana glanced at him with a dark red face that brought out all those freckles he so adored, "Good." Surprise made her blue eyes widen at him, those teal lagoons were shimmering with arousal, and that same emotion she couldn't identify. Her nose scrunched up at him, he chuckled deeply, "What is it?"

"I can't tell what you're thinking." He was quiet, "I can see arousal, lust even in your eyes but that other emotion, I don't know what it is." Sousuke snickered, Kiana only stared at him as he returned to driving, and she looked out at the road once more. "I'm sorry for being like this."

"You don't have anything to be sorry for Kiana," his voice was low, velvety smooth with a hint of huskiness in it, and suddenly she realized what that emotion was in his eyes. The sole reason why he was always watching her with such intensity and it all came crashing together as they drove to the party. Slowly she turned to look at him, those eyes shining with that, what was once an unidentifiable emotion that has become so obvious as he watched the road, and she turned to face the outside scenery. A small smile played on her lips, now that she knew what it was, things were only going to get more interesting.

 _I wondered why I felt the need to tease him so much or allow him to tease me just as much...hmm..._ She smiled softly to herself, _Now that I know what it is, I want to break his resolve. I want his reservations to be thrown out the window with his inhibitions with me, he keeps teasing me because he likes it but I want to break him. Sexually break him with all the teasing that I learned from my childhood._ Kiana chuckled quietly, he glanced at her, wondering what she found so amusing that she had to openly chuckle. After another thirty minutes, he pulled into the hotel valet, his door was opened as was hers, the man holding the door was shocked at the scars on her body when she got out, but she ignored him, and waited for Sousuke to approach her. The key was exchanged for a ticket, he handed it to her, she put it away safely, and she stared at the gathering. There were unknown people around for another event so she looped her arm around his, he looked down at her, the anxiety in her eyes was prevalent as she looked up at him so he placed his hand over hers. Kiana visibly relaxed, they entered the hotel area, he looked around for their friends, and she tugged on his arm. The woman pointed to the small gathering, he nodded, and noticed that she didn't let go of his arm, a small smirk appeared on his face, and they reached their friends. "We're here," she said warmly.

Koari gawked at her, Gou turned around, and stared wide-eyed; Kiana gave a nervous chuckle as all eyes were on them but mainly her. Haru patted her shoulder, she gave a warm smile in return but he glanced at her arm wrapped around Sousuke's and his lips twitched. She knew that he had something going through his mind so she used her free hand to poke him in the chest, "Don't do anything that will make me embarrassed!"

"No guarantees."

Momo approached her, "You look great Kiana!" She gave a small smile so Koari announced that it was time to go the their area that she had rented. "Alright!" They all followed her, Sousuke gently removed her hand from his arm, she looked up at him with a worried expression but he assured her that everything was fine. Kiana nodded, glanced at Makoto, the tall male was grinning, and she knew they had something planned but she just didn't know what.

Once in the reception area, she smiled, everything was laid out like a little buffet with tables to eat at, and a section for dancing. Although there were a great number of other people there that she didn't recognize so Koari stated, "They're all famous swimmers, trainers, and coaches! I invited you guys because I wanted my _close_ friends to come along and enjoy it too!" Kiana gave a small smile as her voice dropped, "You'll be fine Selkie. After all, you've got your protective whale shark with you." At this she glanced at Sousuke who was nearby, watching everything with mild interest but she knew better, and when he looked her way; she turned away with a red visage. Koari laughed, her name was called, "Well I have to go! Have fun! We'll catch up at the after party, trust me!" She gave a hazel-eyed wink at the embarrassed Selkie as she dashed off to find the person who was calling her, she let out a breath, and felt a presence near her. Blue rings looked up, Sousuke was there, he trailed his fingertips across her shoulders lightly, even through her shawl she could feel the heat that they radiated.

"Kiana!" One look saw Rei there, she smiled, waved, and the pair approached him, "How are you?" She shrugged, he chuckled, "It's good to see you. You're so beautiful." She shrugged again, "Thank you for working on the case so diligently. I didn't get a chance to thank you properly."

"It's my job Rei. I only want to help."

"I know but still, thank you." She smiled sweetly at him, "Come on. Enjoy the party before Koari gets amped for the games later." Kiana chuckled, "I'm sure she's got some risque games planned." A nod in the blue-haired male's direction and her attention was directed to the table as she didn't eat anything. "Lots of different food, that's for sure but two of these I don't recognize."

She gave a chuckle with her left hand covering her mouth, both butterfly swimmers stared at her since the gesture was considered adorable by both, and her eyes sparkled. "That's because some of it's Irish food." Rei gasped, she pointed out a cauldron of stew, "That's Irish stew so it has potatoes, carrots, beef broth, and lamb chunks with some oregano." Sousuke approached the other side of her so he could watch her better, she pointed to another dish that appeared to be a creamy white soup, "That's colcannon, it's a soup made from mashed potatoes and kale. That's actually my favorite but only when I get to cook it." Rei chuckled, Sousuke watched her, she turned to the side as a tray of drinks were brought to them, she shook her head, "No thank you." The waiter inclined his head but the two males took some, she chuckled at both of them.

Sousuke was going to sip his drink but someone called his name, "Yamazaki! Sousuke Yamazaki!" He glanced over, it was another swimmer from his time before his injured shoulder. The man ran over and they began to converse, well Sousuke chimed in quietly while the other male just kept blabbering. Kiana stood by, looked up at Rei, he looked down at her, and they both shrugged. The male was ecstatic to talk to him until he said he had some business to take care of so the male's attention diverted to Kiana, "Oh, hello there!" She glanced at him, "Are you alone here?" She shook her head, "Who are you with?"

"Wouldn't you like to know."

"You're being sarcastic, I like that. Wanna get a drink with me?"

Kiana looked up at Rei, "Why does every guy that talks to me want to get a drink with me?" The male she was staring at only shrugged in response which made her sigh as her attention diverted back to the man since he had spoken something to her.

"Because you're exotic," came the stranger's voice, her attention had returned to him. "You're unlike anyone here and therefore are desirable."

Blue eyes narrowed, "Men will always want what they can't have."

"How do you know? I'm _really_ good in bed."

"That's what they all say, as if they need to compensate for something, or lack thereof." The male gawked at her, Rei was astounded by her audacity, and Kiana just kept her voice flat, "The fact that you _have_ to state you're good in bed means that you're compensating for something." His jaw dropped and Sousuke had turned his attention to them, ignoring the person talking, which drew their attention as well. A waiter paused by Sousuke, the empty glass was placed on the tray, then he made his way to Rei, and his glass was placed there as well. "So, I state again, I do not want to get a drink with you and I do not want to have sex with you. I'm not a one-night stand person so go look elsewhere." Kiana turned back around, he reached out, grabbed her arm, and she turned to look at him. Her eye twitched, "Hands off."

"I've never been turned down before."

"Because you're not interesting."

"What?" He stared at her and she repeated herself, "What the hell does that even mean?"

"It means that you're not interesting, you're average." She shook her head, "No, scratch that, you're below average, you're not exceptional." The man's fingers gripped her forearm, she instinctively relaxed her muscle so that it wouldn't harm her further but she knew there would be bruises because of her fair skin. "You're going to leave marks."

"Huh?" Her eyes drifted down to her arm, he looked, released his hand, and noticed the bright red outlines of his fingers. "You...didn't feel any pain?"

"I did but that doesn't mean I'm going to cry about it." The male was about to grab her arm again but she caught him off guard by snatching his wrist and twisting it around. "Don't ever touch me with your filthy hands again." She shoved him forward, he stumbled a little, and spun around; eyes glaring at her. He took a few steps towards but Sousuke approached her, he lifted up her arm, looked at the hand print, and looked at her. "I'm alright."

"Does it hurt?"

"You get accustomed to pain."

"Does it _hurt_?"

She gave a weak smile with a scrunched up brow, "Yes." Sousuke sighed, turned those teal eyes onto the man who had been talking with him not moments ago. "I could have you arrested, you know," Sousuke and Rei both glanced at her as she spoke to the male.

"By who? There aren't any police here!"

"Me." The man stared at Sousuke, "I'm a detective and you just assaulted an Iwatobi forensic which means you've assaulted an officer." He blanched, teal eyes turned to Kiana, "Do you want me to arrest him?" She shook her head and stated it wasn't worth the paperwork, "Alright." He turned to the male once more, "You're lucky she's in a forgiving mood." His voice was dangerously low so the man had to ask one more question, the one that's been plaguing his mind since the butterfly swimmer had asked her if it was painful.

"Is she your girlfriend?" Immediately the teal-eyed swimmer wrapped an arm around her shoulders which brought her towards his chest, luckily her fluffy hair hid the massive red face she now held, and she could feel his steady but powerful heartbeat through the palms of her hands.

"That's not your business." He gulped, stated it was nice to meet him, and literally ran away; Sousuke sighed. His voice was low, "I'm sorry."

She shook her head, "It's fine." Kiana looked up at him and smiled, "You get used to it. Men always want something exotic, something that they can't have, and they can sense when a woman isn't interested which makes them want it even more."

"What about me?"

"Hm?"

"I like you because you're exotic. Does that put me in the same group as them?"

"No." Sousuke stared at her, Rei was analyzing everything that had transpired, "You're not like them because you don't want me because I'm exotic."

"Then why do I want you?"

"Because I'm a Selkie and you're a chubby whale shark." He smirked, "But," she backed away from him, "in all honesty," she turned around, glanced over her shoulder at him, "the truth is," a delicious smirk, "the feelings are mutual." Kiana walked off towards the bar so that she could get a drink since she felt that she needed one at that very moment. Rei watched her, looked at Sousuke, and chuckled; teal eyes glanced at those lavender ones.

"You were trying to tease her to the brink but she turned the tables on you."

"She's always able to do that."

"I know and you were trying to seduce her, undress her with your eyes all the time even before you realized that you liked her." He sighed, ran a hand through his hair, and Rei chuckled again which drew Sousuke's attention to the other butterfly swimmer. "I should let you know that she's caught on to your game."

Sousuke smirked, "Yeah, I know."

"What are you going to do about it?"

"Play harder." Rei patted his shoulder, the two of them went towards Kiana's direction, she had just been given her drink, she thanked the man kindly, and he said that she was very welcome. "What did you get?"

She gave a warm smile that made her eyes twinkle, "Mudslide!" Both of them blinked at her, she looked at the rocks glass she held that had chocolate around the rim with the mixture inside, and murmured, "I like Baileys and Kahlua." A pat on her head that avoided her decorations, she moved her eyes up but not her face, and saw Sousuke smiling at her.

"You like your home country huh?"

"Not entirely but some things that come out of it are exquisite."

"Like you." Red permeated all over her face and neck, he smirked, looked at the bartender, and asked for a suggestion; he felt a tug on her arm and looked at Kiana. "What?" She stated that she had a suggestion, "What is it?"

"Jameson on the rocks," her face was innocent so he nodded, and it was handed to him. Sousuke looked at it, "Irish whiskey." He sipped it, felt the bold flavor of it, and nodded; while she had her own cream colored one in her left hand. Of course Rei had something beautiful made for him which was an apple martini and the two of them accompanied her around the area so that she wouldn't be caught off guard again. Kiana asked something which made both of them stare at her, "How do you do the butterfly stroke?" Rei smiled, they found an empty table, sat down, and he began to tell her as well as show her. She was focused, "Oh! I see." Then she chuckled, "I can't do that one."

"Why not?" asked Sousuke.

She looked at him, "Because my shoulders are not that flexible and even with practice I doubt I'll be strong enough." His eyes were shining with that emotion again, that seduction, and she smiled happily, "I'm fine with the front crawl and backstroke."

"Only backstroke."

"Huh? Why?"

Rei replied with a grin, "Sousuke and Haru have a history." She looked at Sousuke and laughed, both of them stared, she put a hand over her mouth to stifle the rest of it until it died down to chuckles. Sousuke huffed, she chuckled again, and stated that he shouldn't be jealous.

"I'm not."

"Oh really?" He looked at her, the expression that she gave him was so alluring that he simply wanted to kiss her right then and there, to push his tongue through those rouge lips that smirked at him, and claim his territory. "Rin does the front crawl, Gou, and Koari too." She poked him in the chest lightly, "You do it!"

"That's different."

"How so?" Again he was speechless, he asked her if alcohol made her more bold, she shrugged, and faced her drink as she took a sip. "No but it does take my inhibitions away so I may not be as polite as I usually am and I'm a lightweight. So this is all I'll have the entire evening."

"You're that light?" asked Rei with shock. She nodded, "I thought Irish people could hold their liquor because they're heavy drinkers."

"They are but only if you train yourself and from a young age, I never touched alcohol too often so I'm light." She smiled, sipped her drink, "And I'm picky about it too. This is the only one that I like...actually...there's another." Her face turned pink, both males asked at the same time what it was, and she muttered, "Kirin lager." They were taken aback by it, it was something so unexpected that they couldn't fathom why she would like it so she stated a little bit louder, "I like rice!" The pair of them chuckled at her, she looked at Rei on her right side and Sousuke on her left, she puffed up her cheeks, "It's not funny!"

This only prompted them to laugh harder, she stared at her drink, sipped it again, and continued to wait for their laughter to die down. A hand turned her face towards her left, teal eyes looked at those blue ones as he whispered, "You're truly adorable." Her face turned red, "Don't worry, whatever I want to do to you, I'm going to wait."

"For what? My consent?"

His eyes glistened with that intense arousal that made her stomach flip since the first day she met him, "Koari's games."

He relinquished his hold on her, she faced her drink, "Oh dear." This prompted Rei to laugh heartily which drew the attention of Makoto who happened to be nearby and he took a seat across from Kiana. "Hi Makoto!" The blond male smirked, "I have a mudslide. What do you have?"

"Rum and coke."

"Good choice."

"Yours looks better."

She pulled it close to her chest, tucked it under her shawl, and grinned, "You can't have any. It's all mine."

He laughed, "You're not sharing!"

"Nope, all mine." Sousuke smirked at her antics as well as Rei, "Sousuke says that he can't wait for Koari's games. What are your thoughts?"

"They're going to involve a lot of couple games so be prepared."

She nodded, "I'm prepared."

"That's great! It should be in a few hours. How are you holding up?" She told him about the guy that grabbed her arm, she showed him the marks, he examined them, and stated, "You'll be fine." Kiana nodded, "What about after all this? Are you going to go home or stay with someone?"

"Depends on how tired I am but I'll make it home since I have work in the morning."

"You're going to be alright?"

"Yes that's why we have coffee." The collected males laughed except Sousuke, he couldn't get over her antics with the drink or how her eyes were shining like crystals, and how they lit up at the discussion of other types of swimming strokes. Everything about her was intoxicating to him and he knew that this wasn't like the others, this wasn't going to last a few months or a year, this time he knew it was going to be different. The only thing he had to do was claim her at the right moment and all would be well but he also enjoyed teasing her to no end just as she did the same to him. "Games are going to be fun." They agreed and Makoto asked if she danced, she vehemently shook her head, "No, no, no, no, no. Don't ask me, please."

"Okay, I'll wait until the games then!" Her eyes widened, she pouted, sipped her drink, and felt a pat on her head once more. Blue eyes glanced up into teal ones, he kissed her forehead, she smiled, and he leaned back. There was a click, they looked at Makoto, he grinned as he had his phone out, "Cute." Sousuke silently fumed with his stoic face but Kiana knew better, she could read his eyes, and snickered.

As the night wore on, she finished her drink, handed it back to a passing waiter, then grabbed some water, and they were rounded up by Rin. They left the others there, headed down the hall, to the elevator, up to the sixth floor, and into a hotel room. It was spacious, Kiana stared at it in shock, she was nudged forward, and she was keenly aware of Sousuke's large palm on her lower back; pushing her gently. As everyone took a seat on the floor, the box was presented to them by Koari, and she wore a devilish smirk on her face.

"First is truth or dare! I have everyone's name in this hat so who's ever name you pick is the person that you ask." They all nodded, "Okay me first!" She drew Nagisa's name, laughed, and asked him, "Truth or dare Nagisa?"

The game was quite fun until Makoto drew a name, he grinned, "Kiana." She snapped to attention, "Truth or Dare?" She mulled it over and sighed, she stated dare, "I dare you to show us an Irish dance." Her face turned red, she huffed, got up, removed her shawl, and folded it neatly in her spot. "Why were hiding your dress? It's pretty." She shrugged, moved back to an open area, turned to face them, thought about the music, and sighed. Kiana removed her shoes, pushed them aside, set her purse on the bed, removed her phone, and quickly searched for some music. Once she found it, she pressed the play button, and took her position with her arms at her sides. As soon as the proper beat was reached, she began to do a simple Irish jig which astonished all of them. It allowed them to see her leg muscles which explained why she had so much stamina, she was toned, and no one realized it until now.

Sousuke's eyes riveted onto how her body moved with the beat, how her curls bounced so freely, and that made him wonder if they would bounce the same way if she rode him. He kept his gaze on her until she finished, she was huffing but bowed to them, and left her items on the bed as she took her seat on the floor once more, next to Sousuke. Gou exclaimed, "That was amazing!" She smiled, "How do you learn something like that?!"

"Same as swimming, small steps," she replied between breaths. This made everyone laugh, she smiled happily and Sousuke leaned over to ask her a question that no one else would hear. He asked her if her curls always bounced like that and she replied, "Yes." Then looked into his eyes as he leaned back, cheeks immediately turned rosy as that lust was there, she faced away from him, and reached her hand into the hat. The tip of her tongue peeked out from the corner which made the others snicker, and she pulled out a piece of paper. Kiana unfolded it, immediately folded it back up again, and grinned like a child who had a secret base. Seijuro asked who it was, she grinned, "Momo."

"Eh?! Me?!" She nodded, "Okay ask me! Ask me!"

"Truth or dare Momo?"

"Dare!"

Kiana thought for a minute, "Hmm..." The anticipation drew everyone on edge, she smiled innocently, "Imitate a seal!" He laughed, gladly obliged her request, and did a perfect rendition of one. She laughed, "That's really good!"

Momo reached in, took out a piece of paper, and a mischievous glint arrived in those orange eyes, "Sousuke." All eyes turned to him, "Truth or dare?"

"Truth."

"Oh come on! That's not fair!" He shrugged, Momo fumed until he thought of something diabolical that would work in his favor, and it showed itself in those gleaming irises. Kiana caught on faster than Sousuke, "Why do you stop Kiana when she's massaging your shoulder if you're still in pain?" She looked up at him, his stoic face only centered on the backstroke swimmer, "Come on. Tell us!"

He knew she was watching him and he knew he couldn't get out of this, "So nothing unwanted happens."

"Like what?"

"You had your turn Otter." He wailed, Sousuke picked a name, it was Rin, and the game continued on until Koari was bored.

She announced, "Spin the Bottle!" Kiana paled, Souske held a hidden smirk on his face, and she the chocolate haired woman spun first. She laughed, "Come on Gou!" They laughed, kissed each other on the cheek, Gou spun the bottle, it landed on Nagisa, and everyone was having a laugh. Eventually Haru spun it, the bottle landed on Kiana, she chuckled, he got up, as did she, and he leaned towards her ear.

His lips barely touched her but he whispered, "Don't worry, your first kiss will be with him." He pulled away which left her with a red face and sat back down once more. Sousuke looked at her, she kept her eyes on the bottle, thankfully it avoided her the rest of the game, although Sousuke did land on Haru and Rin which made everyone laugh as they all disagreed to it.

"Maybe I should have had girls on one side!" exclaimed Koari. The others laughed, she pulled out another hat but this time with pictures of animals on them. "This is Seven Minutes in Heaven. There's a closet right over there," she pointed, everyone looked, and returned to her, "but this is different. Instead of names, we've got pictures of animals!" She gave a devilish grin, "It's going to be waaaaay more fun since you can do anything you want in that closet as long as it's within seven minutes!"

"Just how much did you drink?" asked Kiana. This prompted everyone to laugh, she took in a deep breath, and felt fingers brush against her bare shoulder; those fingers turned into a palm in the middle of her back. She didn't look, she knew it was Sousuke, trying to make her feel comfortable but he began to trace his fingertips over her scars, and she shivered involuntarily. Momotaro asked if she was cold, she smiled, "A little but that's why I have my shawl." She quickly snatched it up, he had removed his hand by this time, and she wrapped it around her shoulders then fluffed her hair over it. "I'm alright. Let's do this!"

The game progressed really well until it was Sousuke's turn, he reached in, and drew a card; everyone was anxious about the outcome, he kept staring at it, unable to believe that it was actually what he had in his hand. "What is it?" asked Rin. The card was flipped everyone's mouth fell open except Kiana's because she couldn't see it, although she knew what it was since Haru's eyes were shining. "Well...heh...this turned out to be great!" The card was then flipped to show Kiana the animal, it was a seal, and her face turned the darkest shade of vermilion that anyone had ever seen.

He stood up, put his hand out to her, she took it, and he kept his hand around hers as he lead her to the closet. Once there, Koari cracked the door, and whispered that the lights had to be off so it was shut. She also stated to hit the door when they were ready to begin so that they could keep count, Kiana took in a deep breath, her eyes were averted, Sousuke clicked the light off, and tapped the door a few times. Koari stated to hit the timer and the pair were left in darkness although she felt his palms on the sides of her face. His breath was near her cheek, "Don't be anxious."

"I-I'm not anxious," came her murmur.

"Then what is it?"

"Excitement." She could tell he smirked so he moved his lips to the tip of her ear, placed a kiss there, and she wanted him to do more than that. Kiana bit her lower lip, he moved back, by this time their eyes had adjusted, and she looked up at him; teal eyes filled with seduction. "Don't think me too forward for this...because I've been waiting a long time."

"Hm?"

Kiana hugged him tightly, "Thank you for sticking up for me Sousuke." He returned that embrace, wanting to remember every detail of her body against him without the others snickering, he moved her back slightly, tilted her chin up, and stared into those blue pools.

"I can get lost in your eyes." She tilted her head, he smirked, "You don't need a lot of words to convey what you want." Again that head tilt, he leaned close, and whispered. "Then don't think me too forward of this." Without warning he placed his lips against hers, she was shocked, she couldn't move, but her eyes slowly slid closed. He pulled away just slightly but she wrapped a hand around the back of his neck and pulled him back for another kiss. Sousuke wanted to explore her mouth but he couldn't, he leaned back so they could breathe, "Can I?" She gave him a smirk, he kissed her a little more rough, touched his tongue to her lips, and he felt her part them as if she had been waiting for him to ask permission. The butterfly swimmer quickly took advantage of the situation to taste her, he didn't do much, just toyed with her tongue for a bit before retreating. He placed his forehead against hers, "I'm sorry for not giving you my number." A quiet chuckle as if to forgive him, "Thank you."

"For what?"

"Everything."

"I should be thanking you then." He smirked, they kissed one last time, and parted; her face was red but she was happy, her first two fingers touched her lips. "It was wonderful Sousuke, I won't forget it."

"You won't have to forget it as long you're with me. The others will know what happened in here. Your lipstick will be smudged." She shook her head and explained to him that she made sure to wear a high quality one so it wouldn't leave a trace. Sousuke smirked, "Good. You look more beautiful without any make-up but I know you wore it because it's warranted." She nodded, he wrapped his arms around her for one last embrace, and she took advantage of it but squeezing him. He chuckled, they parted, and he kissed her forehead then whispered, "If there was more time then I would have enjoyed exploring what's underneath your dress."

When the door opened, her face still held that vermilion shade of blush, and they returned to their seats. They were asked by everyone what happened, she closed her eyes and smiled, "It's a secret." Sousuke looked down at her, he chuckled, and her gaze turned to him. Without any warning, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders, and drew her close to his body. He placed a kiss on the top of her head, this made all the females collectively 'aww' at the gesture while the males just laughed at it. Kiana took a glance at Haru, he gave her an imperceptible smirk, she smiled at him, and he gave a slight nod.

The night progressed much easier now that the intense wait had been over for the Selkie and the whale shark, the others were parting, she was with Sousuke waiting for the car to be returned to them. They got in, he took her back to the apartment complex, he opened the door for her, and stood by the gate. She smiled up at him, he returned it with a small one, "How long have you been waiting for that kiss?"

Kiana kept that smile on her face, "Since eleven years ago."

He blinked a few times, "Why so long?"

Her face turned red as she averted her eyes from him, "Because I had a crush on you then, after you stuck up for me..." There was a palm on the side of her face, forcing her to look up at him, he moved closer to her, and leaned down. "Sousuke?"

"You should have confessed to me."

"Why?"

"Then we could have been high school sweethearts and shared our first everything together." Her face blushed brightly, he wrapped an arm around her lower back, one around her shoulders, pulled her close to him, and kissed her. Immediately she responded to him, she arched into that kiss, wrapped her arms around his neck, it simply felt ravishing to have his lips against her again, and she couldn't help it when her hands traveled down to his forearms to give them a little squeeze. When they parted, he smirked, "Careful otherwise you won't be going home tonight." She blushed, "Don't worry, only when you're ready." She smiled, took his right hand, and kissed the back of it.

"Then let me finish massaging your shoulder at the club okay?" He nodded, "Mom also says that you're off probation so you can come into the apartment now." He chuckled, they said their goodnights, she headed inside, and noticed that he waited until she reached the outside of her door. She gave a wave, he gave one in return then entered his car, and drove off only after she was safely inside. Kiana sighed happily, removed her shoes, and carried them to her bedroom where her phone chimed. "Hm?" She pulled it out, "I miss your lips already." Her face flushed, she snapped a picture of it, and sent it to him. He replied, "Send me bubble pictures." Kiana blushed, stuck her tongue out, and sent him that picture instead, "Fine, I'll get them another way." She laughed and readied herself for bed that evening with a content smile on her face that she knew she would have to explain in the morning.

-::::::-

Curls were wrapped in a bun, she made coffee for her parents, and Akira saw her wrap the bentos; he was smirking. "Have fun last night?" She glanced at her father and grinned, "Oh?! What happened?! What happened?!"

"Um...I don't know how to explain it..." Kiana saw Aoi behind her father, so she smiled happily, it made her eyes glitter, "A boy kissed me a few times." Both of her parents gawked at her, Aoi ran up to her, and embraced her tightly, she laughed when she asked who it was, "Sousuke."

"I'M SO HAPPY!" Aoi screamed.

"Calm down Aoi! The neighbors will complain," replied Akira.

She shot him an angry look, "I don't care. Kiana's been waiting for him all this time and it finally happened! Tell me how!"

"Actually it was one of Koari's games. Seven Minutes in Heaven then when we parted here at the gate."

"Are you going to kiss him at work?"

"I'm not sure if Chief will frown upon work colleagues who date one another."

Akira chuckled, "There's no policy that says it can't happen." Kiana smiled happily, he approached her, and they all had a family hug before she said that she had to go. "Why?" She stated if he ever wondered who made the coffee in the morning. "Ah ha! I knew it was you!" She laughed, they parted, and she headed out on her Vespa to the station.

Kiana entered, the night shift was still finishing off some things, she went to the break room, cleaned out the pot, and began to start a new one. "Hey." She looked to see Michiro standing there, she tilted her head, "I still owe you for what you did. You lied to your dad for me."

"I can tell you're a good worker Ito so what happened wasn't your fault it was Younger Hasegawa's that's all and I'm sure that little bag was misplaced in your pocket because you were going to analyze it later until you got distracted." He sighed, leaned against the wall as he watched her set up everything for the day shift, and he chuckled. She looked at him, "What is it?"

"You're going to make some guy really happy, you know that?"

The smile she gave caught him off guard, "I hope I already make some guy really happy."

He chuckled and rolled his eyes, "I wonder who that could be!" She laughed with him, "I'll wait for some coffee it'll help me get home." She nodded, "So how did you meet Yamazaki?"

Kiana grabbed her beach bag and replied with a smirk, "We've known each other since high school." He stared at her as she left, she entered the forensic office, just as the man in question entered through the front. Sousuke paused to look as the blinds were opened so that she could see outside into the main station area, she began to organize some things, and wipe down the counters as well as the computer station. Her back was towards the office door, so he waltzed in, and wrapped his arms around her waist. Instead of yelping like he thought she would, she simply froze, unsure of who was behind her until she saw the forearms, and recognized them. "Sousuke!"

He chuckled by her ear, some other officers were watching with keen interest, he kept her against his chest, he leaned over, and placed a kiss on her cheek. "Good morning Selkie." She blushed but maneuvered enough to give him a drawn out chaste kiss on his cheek as well and he gave a grunt of approval. "Why are your lips so plump?" Her face turned darker, she swatted his left arm, he chuckled, and released her. "I'll you see around midday."

"I know, it's going to be busy."

"I'll see you at the pool then I'll come by to pick you up at eight." Kiana nodded, "Good talk Freckles." She laughed as he left the office, her eyes were drawn to the open windows, a few officers were smirking at her, she quickly closed the blinds, and sat down harshly in her chair. Hands were placed on either side of her face as she sat there thinking about the date later, her first date with anyone, and it was with her crush.

"I wonder what would have been different if I _had_ confessed to him...hm...oh well. No sense in thinking about the past." Kiana pushed it from her mind as she got to work on the files that Michiro had left for her, she analyzed the items inside, and was so focused that she didn't realize it was the afternoon time except when a small click of the office door closing and the smell of coffee permeated all around. She blinked a few times, looked up, and saw Sousuke had just taken a seat. "Thank you." He nodded, she put her work aside, removed her gloves, and was about to move to another chair but Sousuke had her sit on his lap once more. "You like me here don't you?"

"It gives me a good view of you although," his voice dropped to a husky whisper, "I'd much prefer it if your curls were bouncing." Her face didn't blush, he watched her closely, she never picked up the coffee cup so she leaned close to his ear, and let her breath tickle the outside.

He felt his face turn pink as she murmured, "I know you would but remember that I learned a lot from my time there so my mind is not as pure as my body." Kiana leaned back, she looked at his pink face, and smiled, "There are many things that I learned so I suppose my time there wasn't as bad as I had thought..." she paused to let her eyes portray a sultry look, he felt his jeans tighten, "...as long as I get to do those things with you."

"Show me," came his hoarse whisper. Kiana wrapped her arms around his neck, she pressed her bare lips to his, and pushed her tongue against them. He obliged her, he allowed her the dominance as she twirled her tongue around with his, delicately moved it around as if she had done this before, and she felt his arms wrap around her body to hold her closer to him. It was a heated kiss, he grunted into it, her skin was flushed as was his, and she broke it off to stare into those teal eyes that were filled with arousal. "You really know what you're doing."

"Only from what I heard."

"You're going to make someone happy."

Kiana blinked a few times, her eye softened, she placed her lips near his ear, and whispered, "Only if that someone is you." She promptly bit the shell of his ear gently, she heard a sharp intake of breath, and she leaned back. "I said before that I'm not a one-night stand kind of person, I'm looking for commitment and if it means waiting a lot longer then so be it." Her eyes were blazing with intensity and Sousuke hugged her gently, she returned that embrace.

"Don't worry, you have my _full_ attention." She chuckled at the double meaning of his words, they parted, she grabbed her coffee cup, he took his, and they began to sip it in silence, "I'm glad you closed the blinds."

"I'm glad you closed the door." He chuckled, she smiled at him as she sat on his lap, happily enjoying the coffee with him. Once their little break finished, Sousuke left with both coffee cups in hand, and gave her a quick kiss on her cheek before leaving. She chuckled at his antics, the door was left open as she returned to work analyzing the documents and evidence.

The day wore on, the evidence had been returned, and the file dropped off in the detectives' office; along with bentos. Gou nearly pounced on Kiana as she wanted to hear all about what happened in the closet and the half-Irish woman continued to say that it was a secret. Gou pouted, Kiana laughed, and they ate their bentos. Sousuke paused, "Don't eat before the movies tonight." She nodded and Gou began to tease her about going to the movies.

Kiana smirked which made the two males interested what she was going to say, "Maybe I should tell Seijuro what you have hiding in your secret drawer." Gou blanched and pleaded with her not to tell him, "Oh? But I thought he would _love_ to know what's waiting in there!" Gou puffed up her cheeks and fumed at her, "Just as you like to tease me, I can do the same to you." Kiana patted her head, "I won't tell him." She held out her bento, "Truce?"

Gou took a cabbage roll stuffed with seasoned fish with a grin, "Truce." She bit into it and exclaimed, "This is really good! How did you make?!" She laughed and stated it was trial and error, "No, it's really good!"

"It's just fish rolled into a boiled cabbage leaf."

"Doesn't matter, what seasoning did you use?"

"Parsley, a bit of sage, a touch of black pepper, and a squidge of lemon."

"What is a 'squidge of lemon'?" asked Rin.

"You know, a squidge. When you squeeze a lemon slice but not hard enough for all the juice to come out but enough for a drop or two. A squidge."

"That's not a word!"

"It is when I use it." This prompted Rin to burst into laughter with Gou, she shrugged, and Sousuke leaned over, she looked at him, and he patted her head. She smiled, "Squidge." The day wore on normally until it was time for them to leave, they headed to the swim club, of course Haru was waiting there, and she smiled at him. "You're very sneaky." He kept a straight face, "Thank you Haru." He nodded, "I'm going to change now." He nodded again and watched as she disappeared into the locker but he intercepted Sousuke.

Teal eyes looked down into blue ones, "Make her unhappy and I'll be sure that she forgets about you forever." Those lagoons widened slightly at the threat only because Haru's eyes were so cold, he turned around, and returned to the diving block. Rin asked him what was wrong but he shook his head and stated that it was nothing.

Once out of the locker room, Kiana placed her bag down, headed for the pool, and slipped into the water; yet her eyes were drawn to someone on the opposite side of the large concrete structure. She had long black hair and pale green eyes, Kiana stared at her, she knew this woman, and her blue eyes narrowed. Yet the woman had not seen her so she decided to pretend that she wasn't there and returned to the diving bars in the water. A sudden splash near her made her glance to the side, Makoto was there, on the other was Momo, and she laughed. She shouted, "THREE!" This brought the attention of the strange woman, green eyes stared at the three figures as they launched from the bars, they swam with such force and speed, but those green eyes never strayed from them. Kiana slapped the wall, breached the water, and hauled herself out of the water; she coughed.

Makoto stated, "You did really good! You're getting better."

She smiled at him while Momo agreed, "You are! Although your launch could use some work." Makoto nodded in agreement, she chuckled, so she got back in the water, and allowed them to help her. The woman couldn't see if this swimmer was someone she knew or someone else because the swim cap and goggles prevented the important features from being seen.

Kiana looked up, Sousuke was there, he sat down, she got out, and took a seat on the diving block. The goggles were pulled down and the strange woman gasped at the burns then a wicked smirk pulled across her lips. Kiana massaged Sousuke's shoulder, she mouthed to Gou to get her phone, which she did, and said, "I think you're phone was ringing." She nodded her thanks, he watched as she leaned over to show him what she wanted to type, it was to her father. But the gesture was to show that she wanted to show something to Sousuke rather than tell her father that Madam Snake was at Iwatobi Swim Club.

She returned to her bag, put the phone away only after she got confirmation that his friends were going to find out everything about her. Kiana approached Sousuke from behind, pushed him the water, and grinned as he resurfaced. She misjudged him as he reached up, grabbed both of her arms, and pulled her head first into the water. Kiana breached it, coughed, and glared at him; he only smirked as he kissed her forehead.

He whispered, "I'll protect you from everything." Kiana smiled up at him, "Now let's practice. I'll do butterfly-"

"And I'll do backstroke!" He nodded, they mounted their blocks and bars, and Gou grinned at them as they began to swim laps although Kiana still had a lot more stamina and backstroke was perfect for her legs. She hit the wall, Sousuke was already sitting there, not even breathing heavily because he had finished long before her, and she sputtered water. He patted her head, she smiled happily, and pulled herself out of the water. "I'll tell you everything tonight okay?" He nodded and they left it at that as he waited for her to catch her breath.


	8. Oh the Horror

**Disclaimer:** I do not own _Free! Iwatobi Swim Club_ or any of the characters portrayed in it, they belong to Koji Oji, I simply own the character named Kiana Hagano, some others thrown in, and that is all. This was inspired by a a spur of the moment idea (don't judge me XD ) so I hope you all enjoy it as much as I do writing it. (Thank you for the first review. ^-^)

 **Chapter 8** \- Oh the Horror

She exited the shower, pulled on her undergarments, a white blouse, a red and black plaid vest, with a matching skirt. Her brown boots were at the door, and she was giddy with excitement but the thought of Madame Snake being there, made everything sour. "Hmph...even now she sours my mood. Maybe when I tell Sousuke, it'll be easier for me." Kiana grabbed her field bag, placed it on one shoulder, made sure she had everything, then headed out of her room. Aoi and Akira were at the kitchen table, "I'm off to the movies!"

"You're not going to eat?" asked her adopted mother.

"No, he told me not to eat before the movies."

Akira smiled, "Alright then. Have fun and don't worry, as soon as I know, you'll know." She nodded her thanks and headed out the door. Once they heard her feet disappear, he sighed, "That bitch is back and I'm not going to have her destroy her life a second time. Not going to happen."

"You're forgetting one thing." He looked at his wife, "She has Sousuke now and a lot of friends. She's not alone anymore and she's got a rather violent temper that she doesn't know about so there's always that ace in the hole."

He chuckled, "I guess so."

"But we're still going to worry because that's what parents do." He nodded in agreement, "Now, since she's gone for the evening..." He snickered at his wife and they finished their dinner so that they could have their own date night.

Kiana was at the gate, Sousuke had already been waiting, he smiled at her outfit, "Like Izumi."

"I like the colors."

"They suit you." He placed a quick kiss on her forehead before opening the door for her, "We're going to see a movie first then get dinner."

"That's fine." Sousuke asked her to tell him about the text she had sent her father that day, "Well, I'm not sure if you saw her but there was a woman at the club. She had long black hair and pale green eyes." He stated that he did take note of her, "That's Madame Snake, the one who was in charge of the brothel that I was at for five years, and the same one that burned me." He was silent, "She was caught but apparently was let out on good behavior so Dad has his friends at Interpol looking up her address and getting tabs on her for my sake."

"What about you?"

"I want _them_ to be more careful. I'm a lot older now, I can take care of myself but I worry about them."

"What can this Madame Snake do?"

"Remember when I asked Ito about snake anti-venom?"

"Yeah."

"You can milk a snake so that you get it's venom then you can make an anti-venom from it or inject it into someone else." Sousuke's face was grim, "That's what she can do. She had all sorts of snakes, poisonous and non. She never used them but that doesn't mean she doesn't know how, it's just a matter of time and as long as tabs are kept on her then everything _should_ be fine."

"What do you think she wants from you?"

"I honestly don't know."

"On a cheery note, have you figured out how to word it?"

Kiana smiled, he was happy to see her smile, it brightened her eyes, "I have!"

"Then wait until dinner." She nodded, he parked the car as they had arrived at the theater, he opened the door for her, she got out, and thanked him. As they made their way inside, he bought tickets, and handed one to her. She stared at it, "What? You don't like scary?"

"I...may not be able to go home tonight..."

"You're going to be that afraid?"

"Maybe."

Sousuke leaned in, "You can stay with me if you want. I don't mind the extra company." Kiana blushed, he chuckled, kissed her head, and they headed inside. "Popcorn? Candy? Soda?" She raised an eyebrow at him, "What? It might make you feel better." Kiana glanced over the selection and stated just popcorn, "Alright." He purchased one large popcorn and two sodas, he paid, and they headed to the theater where he made sure to sit in th back since it would be a good place to be alone. The popcorn was placed on her lap, she looked up at him, "For comfort." She scrunched up her nose at him, he chuckled, and they both turned their phones to silent. The movie began with credits rolling, Kiana flipped the armrest up, and moved closer to him. Sousuke wrapped an arm around her shoulders, she kept the popcorn between them, and began to munch on one piece at a time. He held back a snicker, he really just wanted to laugh at her antics, they were too adorable, and he had a thought. _Next time, movie and dinner at my place._

As it started, she inched closer to him, he couldn't help the grin on his face, and she hid her face in his side to prevent herself from being scared. He patted her shoulder to let her know nothing happened, she peeked up, and sighed while returning to eating popcorn. It was offered to him multiple times until he finally gave in, and took a handful. She smiled brightly, glanced at the screen, and hoisted the bag up in front of her so she wouldn't have to see. He gave an involuntary low chuckle, she glared at him, he tilted her chin up, and kissed her. Kiana melted in that affection, she pressed her tongue against his lips, he parted them, and they wrestled for a bit before breaking it off, and turning to look at the screen. However a large palm blocked her view of it, she saw Sousuke watching her, she gave him a happy smile, and kissed the palm of his hand then licked it. He blushed in the dark theater but a smile was on his face and he was berating himself for not asking her out in high school.

The movie came to a close as did the rest of the popcorn and soda, she said that she wanted to wash her hands, and he nodded. Sousuke was waiting outside the bathroom for her when a woman with black hair and pale green eyes paused to stare at him. Sousuke looked at her, "Can I help you?"

"You know Kiana?"

"Maybe. Why?"

"She's damaged, no good, scarred." Kiana popped out, she glared at the woman, "What's your interest in someone like that? Why does she have all those friends when she's so messed up?"

"Maybe you should ask her yourself."

"How would I do that?"

"Because I'm right here." The woman turned around quickly, those blue eyes blazing with intensity, "You have no right to ask about me."

"I bought you."

"You were an illegal sex slave trader. You were put away for those practices and found guilty of them so I would advise you to drop the subject of you _ever_ owning me again."

"Well, you've gotten feisty over the years."

"I'm an adult, I know how to handle myself."

"I suppose. But do you know how to handle me?"

Her eyes darkened, "If need be."

Those pale green eyes widened, "You've really changed."

"What do you want?"

"I'm here on probation. This is where they sent me." Kiana stayed silent, a way to show that she didn't believe her, "Well, believe what you want. That's all. Not as if I can do anything to anybody anyway." She revealed that there was a locator on her ankle, "I can't go very far and I have to call in every hour. Enjoy your life Kiana, it'll end soon. No one gets away from Madame Snake _especially_ someone like you who is so unique." The woman walked away, it was then that Sousuke noticed she had her phone out, and had recorded the entire conversation. She smirked, sent the audio file to her father with the location and time of the occurrence.

Sousuke hugged her, "You really are observant."

"I have to be."

"Come on, I'll make you dinner."

"Huh?"

"Dinner's at my place. I'll cook for you instead of taking you out or are you afraid?" Kiana shoved him gently into the wall, making sure that he hit his left shoulder instead of his right. He chuckled at her, she wore a smirk, and they headed out of the theater and towards his car. Her eyes watched the route so she could surprise him later on, or if the need arose, to zip someplace safe. He parked it, it was only ten on a Saturday night so many of his neighbors were out and about on their porches.

"You have a house?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Apartments are too small." She raised an eyebrow at him, he smirked, got out, and noticed that she waited for him. The car door was opened, Kiana asked him if he did this to all his girlfriends, and he closed it behind her then pushed her against it. He whispered, "No, only you." Kiana tilted her head, "Because you're the only one that truly deserves my _full_ attention." Her eyes watered up, he was shocked, it wasn't what he expected so he wasn't sure what to do but she quickly wiped them away, and hugged him tightly. Sousuke returned that embrace, they parted, "Come on. I have to make dinner." She nodded and noticed that he entwined his fingers with hers, she blushed lightly, and he let go so that he could open the door until a neighbor popped out.

"Sousuke! How are you?"

He glanced to the side, it was an elderly man, "I'm well Watanabe."

"How many times have I told you to call me Grandpa Ayato?" Sousuke only stared at him, "At least call me Ayato! I'm not your work colleague that you despise!" Kiana chuckled, this brought the man's attention to her, "Oh! Hello dear! Sousuke's never brought a girl home before!" She approached one side of the porch, he did so on his own, and they both bowed to one another while Sousuke paused in opening the door. He leaned against the wall to watch them, "It's so nice to meet you! I'm Ayato Watanabe."

"My name is Kiana Hagano, it's a pleasure Grandpa."

He stared at her, grinned, "Sousuke you need to keep her! I like this one!"

"You like them all."

"No I don't. We only say that to make you feel better," he leaned towards Kiana and whispered, "In all honesty we _hated_ the other ones. He didn't bring them around here but we knew who they were, we would _see_ them occasionally around town." The elderly man winked at her to show that they pretty much stalked Sousuke on his days off.

"Who are the _other ones_?" she asked just as quietly. Ayato guffawed, she was grinning, "You mean Yuri?"

"Well there's a few more but they're not important. Does it bother you?" She shook her head, "Very well then! We keep an eye on our Sousuke, he's the only young one around here and we owe him for helping us even with his bad shoulder." Kiana shot a glare at the man they were talking about before bringing her attention back to the elderly one, "Oh ho! You know about it."

Her blue gaze turned to Ayato, "Yes I know of it."

"Although he's been doing a lot better."

She gave a sweet smile, "I massage it twice a day at the swim club."

"Ah! You do?!" She nodded, "And you swim?" She nodded and stated that Sousuke taught her as well as some other friends. "Oh young love!" Kiana motioned him to come in closer, he did, and his voice dropped "What is it dear?"

She murmured, "Actually we've known each other since high school but when he graduated he didn't give me a way to contact him."

"Oh no!"

"When I came back from college, turns out we both work at Iwatobi Police Station." Ayato grinned, "I know! Fate has a plan for us all." He agreed then she gave him her number, "If you need anything, you can call me too. I'll be happy to help out."

"If you're willing to help out then move in with Sousuke! The man needs a woman like you in his life!" She chuckled, Ayato grinned, "Have a good night you two! Us old people won't keep you guys for too long!" He winked at her, she chuckled, and they parted ways by saying good night to one another. Sousuke opened the door for her, she entered, and he shot a glare towards Ayato who was grinning. When the couple disappeared inside, he whipped out his landline, and began to call every neighbor on the block.

"Why did you engage him?"

Kiana looked up at Sousuke, the door had been shut, and she smiled, "Because he seems like a nice old man."

"He's just trying to wind up the neighborhood, they keep saying I need a wife, and you just gave him that ammunition." She removed her shoes, placed them by the door, and put her field bag on the coat rack by the door. He stared down at her as she approached him, "What are you doing?" Kiana ran her hands slowly up the outside of his shirt, starting at his lower abdomen, she felt him twitch even through the fabric that separated them. Her palms made their way up, to his pectoral muscles then to his neck, where she brought him down to her level as she stood on her tip toes.

She noticed his face held a faint trace of a blush and her eyes were bright, "So what? They're elderly people and need gossip every once in a while." Kiana paused, "Besides, do you have any intention of breaking up with me?"

"No," he replied hoarsely.

"Then what's the problem?"

"I don't want them to unnecessarily push me into something I'm not ready for."

"They won't."

"How do you know?"

"I just do Sou-su-ke." She kissed him roughly even nipping his lower lip to prove her point, he gave an involuntary moan at her gestures, and wrapped his arms around her body to bring her closer to him. His mind kept turning to how it would feel if she didn't have any clothes on. After a few minutes, they broke for air, he stared down into her blue eyes with his aroused teal ones, "I'm sorry I can't do much more for you yet but perhaps _really really_ soon."

He smiled, "It's fine. Now make yourself at home and I'll start making dinner." She nodded, he released her, headed to the kitchen, and she headed to the den. Kiana took a seat, she looked around the living room, there was a television, love seat, sofa, chair, coffee table, and not much else.

"It's bare in here."

"I like it like that."

"At least you got curtains."

"Didn't want the neighbors to see me walking around half-naked on my days off."

"People at the pool see you half-naked all the time."

"I wear jammers so, no, they don't."

She stared at him and laughed, he looked at her, she had both of her hands covering her mouth to stifle it but was failing miserably, and he paused to watch her. Those blue eyes squinted shut, tears beginning to peer out from the corners, and how her chest convulsed with the laugh. He was content to watch her until she calmed down, she wiped the tears away, and looked at him with twinkling eyes. "That was too funny." He nodded, returned to his work at hand, and she leaned back on the couch to look up at the ceiling. "It's clean here."

"It's just me."

"So I'm the first person you brought here?"

"Yes."

"What about the others? They didn't come here?"

"No, I took them to a hotel. Didn't want my home to be filthied up I guess."

"What makes me so special?"

"You're a Freckled Selkie."

"Hmm...a Freckled Selkie and a Chubby Whale shark, could be a good children's book." Sousuke looked at her, she smirked at him, and he gave a small smile in return. They fell into silence until he called her to come in the kitchen, she got up, and took a seat at the table. He asked her to tell him about her life after him leaving. "Well...you made it hard for me." Sousuke nodded to show he was listening while he prepped the food, "I honestly didn't know what to do with myself, you were always there in the morning and the afternoon so when you weren't, I became very violent towards others. Anything little thing set off my phobia and I really had no control over it." Teal eyes glanced at her every once in a while as hers were locked on the table, "Eventually I realized that you weren't at Samezuka anymore so I refocused my efforts to help my Dad."

"I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault, it's mine. I should have been able to say something to you but I was just so frightened of the outcome."

"I could have said something to you as well but I was an idiot."

Kiana chuckled, "Looks like I'm a frightened Selkie and you're an idiotic Whale shark. We're more than suited for one another don't you think?" He chuckled at the thought, "After that I just focused on school work. There were some guys that wanted to date me but I ignored them, one even tried to force himself on me." Sousuke snapped his attention to her, "But his third leg wasn't strong enough to endure my satchel." He chuckled, "I actually put him in the hospital for two weeks. I didn't even know I hit him that hard."

"You can be pretty strong when you want to."

She smiled sweetly, "I had no idea." He turned away to cook the food on the stove, "What made you want to become a Detective?"

"I couldn't swim professionally but I still wanted to do something just as rewarding. I wanted to only swim for myself which is why I overworked my shoulder caused a broken rotary cuff. After meeting up with Rin and the others again, I wanted to swim with them and that's where I wanted to do something with other people. A team effort, since I couldn't swim, what better than a police officer?" She smiled gently, "You're not going to ask why I didn't become a fireman?"

"I know why."

"You're really observant."

"You have no idea."

"Why did you choose to forensics?" He looked over his shoulder at her, she rested her face on one palm, and watched him with glittering eyes.

"Because it's what I know I'm good at."

"And being observant? How are you at that?"

"Let's see here, I'm going to give you a massage later on in the evening assuming other plans don't arise." He continued to stare at her, "Your shoulder is aching, a dull ache, not enough to cause any outward pain and it's probably due to the fact that a rain storm might be coming which means a change in barometric pressure hence the dull ache." Sousuke stared at her, "I also see that you want me, very much but are afraid to do anything out of bounds with me because you're frightened of scaring me away." His eyes widened, "You won't scare me away. I've had a crush on you since that day you stuck up for me." She chuckled, "About that, you fantasize about me, even when you were with the others, you continued to tell yourself you'd grow out of it, that it was just an infatuation that would pass, that no one could make such an impact on your life for just one year even if said person didn't talk all that much." Teal pools were revealed to her even more as they widened to show off those perfect circles of color, and she closed her eyes happily. "Whatever you fantasize about me, I'm sure I've done the same about you...actually...I've probably imagined _a lot_ worse than you."

He chuckled, turned to cook the food, and smirked, "Does your father know how observant you are?"

"No but Mom does. She catches on a lot more quickly than Dad."

"Is it the phobia?"

"Yep. I sort of vicariously inherited it from her since she always seemed to have a panic attack when something was dirty or untidy. I decided to take on some responsibility of keeping the house clean so her ataxophobia inadvertently passed onto me. Unlike her though, it impacted work and school life as well but I don't have panic attacks so there's that."

Once it was finished, two plates were set on the table, one in front of her, and one next to her. She stared at the omurice, he set down two glasses of tea, and took a seat next to her. "Go on." Kiana smiled and stated that it smelled really good. "Try it." Kiana thanked him, she used her fork in her left hand, cut a piece, then blew on it. She put it in her mouth with the curved part of the fork facing away from her lips and Sousuke raised an eyebrow at it. The piece was chewed, she stated that it was delicious, "Good. Why do you hold your fork like that?"

"I'm Irish!" He chuckled, they ate their food with Kiana praising his cooking skills, and he simply shook his head at her. "Dad can't cook like this _at all_." He stated that he knew, "So if you want me to cook for you, I'll have to come here. Mom says no boys allowed in the house and if I want to have pleasure, to do it elsewhere." He chuckled, "Those are the parental rules." She finished her food, drank her tea, and he took the plates to the kitchen, and stated that he'd get them later. Kiana fidgeted, "Can I do them now...?" He looked at her, "Please."

He stepped aside from the sink, she got up, pushed her chair in, as well as his, and headed to the kitchen while rolling up her sleeves. Immediately she started filling up one side with soap water, the other was empty, and he leaned against the counter to watch her. The way she scrubbed them made him realize just how thorough she was, they were sparkling clean, set aside to air dry, and she washed her hands then dried them. "You're really good at this." She shrugged, sighed happily, and he grabbed her in an embrace, "I'm sorry for that."

"It's okay."

"Why did you want to clean them? It isn't your home."

"But it's yours. I told you that you're very important to me."

"How important?"

Her face blushed, she glanced away, "I...only want your attention, I only _needed_ your attention in high school and I didn't have that in the last two years of high school or college. You and only you, there was no one else, there _is_ no one else."

"I'm that important to you?" She nodded, "Look at me." Kiana looked up at him, "Come on." He took her to the couch, he stretched out the length of it, and placed her butt between his legs, and her back rested against his chest. He kissed the top of her head, "You're important to me too Kiana. A very important person and I didn't realize it sooner but...I..." He gave a growl of frustration and she chuckled, he looked at her, as she leaned to the side so she could stare at his lagoons.

"I know what it is. That emotion in your eyes, what I feel in my heart, what I've always felt but I don't want to frighten you."

"You won't. Tell me what it is." Kiana gave a smile that made her eyes glow like a luminescent beach, he was caught off guard by it so much that he only stared at her, and couldn't hear the words she said. "Can you say that again? I got distracted."

She chuckled, "Sousuke, I don't just _like_ you." This time he focused on her face, it was red, she looked away, "I love you, always have. That's why I wasn't interested in anyone else for eleven years and probably would _never_ be interested in anyone else until I could have found you again." He stated for her to look at him, she did, and he asked her to say it again, "I love you." He wrapped his arms around her smaller frame, he hugged her tightly, her voice was muffled but she managed to yell, "Rotary cuff!"

"It's fine as long as you're here." He released her, "I don't want to say it so you can say it all you want."

Kiana grinned, "Is it too much for you to handle?"

"Maybe. Honestly, I'm not the type of person to say my feelings and since you're able to read me, it's fine."

"I'm alright with it, as long as you know how I feel about you." He nodded, "So?" Sousuke looked at her, "You only brought me here for dinner?"

"I have other intentions but you're not ready."

"I'm a grown woman Sousuke and have waited for _only you_ for eleven years. I think I'm ready."

"You...waited for me?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"I told you," her features softened, "because I love you. It's not a biased puppy love otherwise I wouldn't still be a vir-" Her mouth clamped shut, he gave a hearty laugh, and kissed her passionately. She returned it with just as much fervor, he broke it off, "What?"

"You said that you knew things." She nodded, "So show me. Show me what you know to make me throw away every self-righteous thought I have about you as long as you're up for the consequences."

"I'm not sure _you_ can handle the consequences."

"Try me."

"Okay but," she maneuvered so she straddled him on the couch even though she had to hike her skirt up considerably and her voice dropped to a low whisper, "don't say I didn't warn you because after this, I'm going to make sure you forget _every other person_ you've ever been with." Sousuke's eyes widened slightly, she leaned forward, placed her lips against his neck first, and trailed her left hand down to the hem of his shirt while her right moved to his backside. Delicate fingers slipped underneath, he closed his eyes so he could feel her better, she suckled his neck, nipped it, and he groaned at her ministrations. Her hand made its way up, caressing every muscle she felt, her lips moved up to his ear where she licked the outside edge, his breath came out in ragged gasps, and he could feel himself getting more aroused than he ever had been in his life and she hadn't even kissed him yet and both were still fully clothed. She slowly but firmly moved her hips on his pelvis area, he gave an involuntary groan at the gesture. He caught her wandering hand and she leaned back with a concerned expression on her face, "What is it? Did I do something wrong?"

Her eyes were worried, he looked at her with half-lidded lust-filled lagoons, "No. You're perfect my Selkie." Her face turned a million shades of red as he wrapped his hand around the back of her head, and brought her in for a kiss. He didn't do it gently, he shoved his tongue into her mouth, and battled for control but she was more skilled because of her knowledge from the brothel. They parted for air, a thin saliva trail attaching themselves to one another, it diminished, and he huskily whispered, "I want you. Now. Can I have you Kiana?"

Her face softened, "Of course you can. As long as it's only you Sousuke." He quickly stood up with her in his arms, she squeaked, "Shoulder!"

A dark chuckle escaped him, "It's fine for now. You'll massage it in the bedroom, won't you?" She smiled, nodded, and that was where he took her; to the bedroom. "Assuming I can even give you that free time." She blushed profusely as she mumbled something, "Hm?"

"I have to send my parents a text."

"Do it from my phone." Kiana squirmed slightly to get his phone out of his back pocket, she found her father's number, and sent him a text. "Finished?" She nodded, "Good, now you're all mine, aren't you?"

"I've always been yours."

"You're making me hate myself for not asking you out in high school every time you say things like that." She smiled sweetly then attacked his neck, he groaned, and tossed her on the bed; she yelped. "Payback time." Her face flushed, he loomed over her with a seductive smirk on his face, and pulled off his shirt for her; she gave a half-smile as she slowly unbuttoned her vest. Kiana sat up, the vest was slipped from her body, she started on the blouse, making sure to keep eye contact with Sousuke as his eyes roamed down her body, and smiled at him. The blouse was removed, she tossed it aside, teal eyes stared at her fully developed chest, he craved it more now that he saw them encased in a green lace bra. Yet she wasn't finished, he watched as she trailed her hands down her body to the waist band of her skirt so she could release the button holding it in place, she took to sitting on her knees on the bed, he watched with intense arousal, and realized that his breath was coming in short gasps as she guided her hands down to the hem of her skirt, and slowly slid it up her thighs.

He outwardly groaned as he felt his jeans tighten, perspiration apparent on his forehead as well as his chest from all the teasing, she smirked, he looked at her lips, and watched as her tongue caressed the lower one in one swoop. Sousuke couldn't take it anymore, he approached her with dominant intentions, she felt a fire flare up in her abdomen, and he yanked the skirt off her; it revealed matching lace panties. "No more teasing, I can't take it." Kiana gave a low chuckle, he stared at her, eyes glittering, he decided to toy with her, he caressed her thighs, she moaned, as he moved his hands behind her body towards her butt, and caressed it as well. Her lower lip was being abused by her teeth, he smirked, then slid down her panties, and stared at the color. "Hmmm, you really are a seal aren't you?" She chuckled, he gently lowered himself down, he inhaled her scent then began to slowly taste her. Kiana squirmed as the fire kept building, the feel of his tongue prodding her, pushing inside her, caressing her, it was all too much for her first time, and he paused. That fire still coiling, still burning, he placed kisses all the way up her naval to her chest, his hands reached around to unclasp her bra.

She gasped as the cool air hit her heated skin, he slid the straps off, tossed the garment aside, and ogled her chest. Blue eyes watched him stare at them, as if he had never seen anything so perfect before, so she arched her back, it pushed her chest out more, and he immediately latched onto a peak. Her breath came out in ragged gasps, the fire building even more pressure, he moved to the other, caressing the neglected one with his hand, and his mouth moved up to hers. The kiss he received from her surprised him, the urgency in it, the passion, the fervor, and he lost himself to the pleasure her tongue was causing. He didn't realize she was unbuttoning his jeans until he felt them get pushed down his hips, they broke for air, "Do you want this?"

"Yes. Do you?"

"Of course."

"What's the problem?"

Sousuke smirked, "No problem." He didn't get to do anything else as she attacked his neck, urging him on to rid himself of his clothes. He obliged her, kicking off his jeans, and boxers while he pulled her panties down the rest of the way. Now that they were both fully nude, he took the time to memorize her body, the scars only enhancing her natural beauty, and she did the same to him. His manhood stood proud just like him, she outstretched her arms to him, he leaned down, and felt her breasts squish against his chiseled chest, her soft pudgy body molded to his toned one, and he wanted to stay like that for as long as possible until he felt her reach a hand down. "What are you doing?"

"Getting even," came her breathless whisper. He groaned as her hand wrapped around his shaft, the way she moved, as if she had done this before, and he knew she hadn't. His mind went blank, he let his instincts take over for the moment, he kissed her roughly, and she returned it with just as much passion. He growled as they broke apart, he aligned himself, she put her index finger over her lips, to tell him that she already knew it was going to hurt so to shut up. He smirked, kissed her roughly, and slid his fingers down to her apex in order to get her ready for him. She squirmed underneath him, wriggling to get more friction, and he placed his lips against hers as he eased in one until she was comfortable then a second and after some passionate kissing, the fingers were removed; he slid himself in gently, and relished the feel of her tight walls around him. Sousuke groaned, she kept kissing him, to distract herself from the pain but he waited for her, they broke off, and she smiled happily. Kiana gently nudged his right shoulder, to show him to turn over, he flipped them so that he was on the bottom, and she stayed seated. Adjusting herself more comfortably, her palms on his chest, he put one arm underneath the back of his head, and watched as her curls bounced.

-::::::-

Light filtered through the curtains, he rolled over, one side of the bed was cold, and the smell of coffee permeated nearby. Sousuke sat up, the sheets fell away to reveal his naked torso, and he was only half awake when he saw Kiana sitting on the edge of the bed next to him. He stared at her, her eyes holding a glow that he had never seen before, so he put the coffee cups on the side table, and grabbed her. She yelped, he kissed her, slipped his hand underneath her loose blouse, and she giggled. "What?"

"No time for play. Work." He groaned, "Come on sleepy head. You're going to be late."

"Why are you up so early?"

"So I can make coffee and no bentos today."

He pointed to the kitchen with one hand while the other massaged his face and he laid back down, "I have some boxes in there, go make something, and come back in ten."

"Nope, go shower." She pulled the comforter off of him, he groaned, "Come on or you won't get to see these," he looked at her and she lifted her blouse to show her breasts encased in a green lace bra. Sousuke groaned again because she was out of his reach, "Okay?" He nodded, sat up, and grabbed the coffee cup from the side table as she disappeared towards the kitchen to make the bentos. An involuntary smile appeared on his lips, he couldn't help it, she was different, and he knew that he felt the same way towards her; he just didn't want to voice it.

He dropped her off at her house, only after she insisted on cleaning up the bedroom, so that she could grab her beach bag, change her clothes, and zip out of the house; her parents saw her enter. Mainly he didn't want others to find out just yet, when she entered, Aoi said her good morning with a smirk, she grinned at her mother while Akira glanced around, "I gotta go! I don't want to be late!"

"Did you have fun last night?" asked Aoi. Kiana flashed a bright smile, "Ho ho! That's my girl!" They noticed she changed very quickly, grabbed her bag, slipped her boots on, and waved to them. "Have fun little Selkie." She chuckled on her way out, Akira looked at his wife, "What? Are you that blind?"

"No..I don't want to admit it."

"Too bad. At least it's with Sousuke."

"Why are you so happy?" She shrugged, he chuckled, "Maybe we'll get this place to ourselves again..."

"Maybe sooner than you think." He snickered, "What about that vile woman?"

"Ah don't remind. She confronted Sousuke and Kiana at the movies last night, our little girl got everything recorded, sent it to me with the date and time of occurrence, and I forwarded it to my friends at Interpol."

Aoi grinned, "Our little Selkie is so smart."

"But what makes her so unique?"

"Maybe it's her blood."

"Huh?"

"What else could it be?" Akira rubbed his chin, Aoi shrugged, "Well, maybe Kiana will figure it out for you." He nodded and they finished their breakfast, "I'm going to miss the ready made coffee in the morning." They both laughed at her comment and Akira knew it too but he also knew that Sousuke took things slow in this department so they would still have plenty of time.

Kiana actually managed to make it there before Sousuke, he parked his car, got out, and stared at the Vespa. He entered, Gou greeted him but she gasped as she saw the mark on his neck, and he looked at her, "What?" A hand was placed over her mouth, she shook her head, then grinned as he left her alone with her thoughts. Sousuke was leaning against the door frame of the break room, he watched her start the coffee, "How the hell did you beat me here?"

She glanced at him, smirked, "I have a scooter which means I can zip through small spaces."

"Don't say it like that."

"Why not?"

"Because..." He looked away, she chuckled, pushed passed him, "I'll see you at midday."

"Of course," her voice dropped to a sultry level, " _chubby_ whale shark."

"My nickname has never sounded so erotic before." She winked at him then waltzed back to her office, "Hey, I have a question." Kiana looked at him, smiled, and stated that she had a copper ring then tapped her neck to show him something he may have missed that morning. She popped into her office, he chuckled, entered his, and began on the paperwork that was laying around. Rin entered, stared at him, more specifically his neck, glanced at the door, and opened his mouth to say something, "Don't sit there with your mouth open. We've got work to do." A file was handed to him and those magenta eyes saw how invigorated those teal ones were, Sousuke smirked, "Just shut up."

"YES!"

It was so loud that the entire station heard it, everyone paused, looked around, and shrugged as they returned to work; Kiana laughed in her office while getting her own work done. Rin popped in with a file, she looked up at him, and he couldn't help the smirk on his face. "You didn't have to shout so loud you know."

"I couldn't help it. I've never seen him like this...ever."

"Not with the others?"

"No, from what he told me they just did what they wanted for themselves and never really thought about him." He took a seat next to her as she opened the file, "I want to know _everything_."

"Why?"

"Because I could use some advice!"

"I don't kiss and tell Rin. Even if you _are_ his best friend."

"Awww! Come on, I want to hear all the juicy details so I can tell Koari!"

"Not happening Shark."

He burst into laughter, "You said it just like Sousuke!"

"Oh? I did?" She was toying with him and it made Rin laugh even harder, "My shell is breaking slowly because of him and because of everyone else I've met."

"It's good to see. You're completely different than that girl we met that day jogging."

"No I'm not."

"Hm?"

"Look harder, you'll see I'm the same." Rin stared at her, he chuckled, and nodded, "See? I'm the same. I'm just elated that I can be with my high school crush and, he may not know it, but I'll fight for him."

"It's good to hear. I know you will. So any news on the creepy woman at the club?" Kiana raised an eyebrow, "I saw her staring at you very intently when you racing and having fun. Who is she?" Kiana explained to him what she had told Sousuke the prior night, "I see. What about you? What does she want from you?"

"I don't know but if she says I'm unique then there's a reason for it. If it's not something on the outside then it has be something on the inside which amounts to blood."

"So...do you have blue blood or something?"

She chuckled, "I don't know but I'll go to a lab and see what's going on." He nodded, said his farewell, "Uh-huh, you too Sharkie." Rin left her office laughing as she went through the file, she went over the information then closed it after she realized Rin dropped it off just so he could talk to her. She got up, headed to their office, and plopped the file in front of him. Both males looked up at her, "You can just stop by and talk without having to bring something Rin. I'm not going to tell the Chief on you for slacking that's your partner's job." Kiana walked out of the office, Sousuke chuckled, and Rin gawked at the space she had just occupied.

As midday rolled around, coffee was presented to her, she thanked him, and took a seat next to him, "How are you feeling?"

"A little sore but nothing I can't handle."

"Hmm."

"What?"

"Just what exactly did you hear them talking about in that place?" He glanced at her, she gave him a secretive smile, and he sighed. She asked him if something was wrong, "No just that I don't have enough free time in the day to show you how much I missed you over the years. Or...for you to show me apparently." She giggled, "Do you have anything else up your sleeve?"

"Yes. A lot more. I spent five years there, that's quite an arsenal I've built up."

"And you saved it?"

She looked up at him, eyes glowing, "All for you Sousuke." He leaned over, kissed her forehead, and they drank their coffee. "I marked you."

"I know but I didn't get to mark you so," he snatched her, pressed his lips to her neck, and began to suck the tender flesh there. Kiana squirmed, she bit her lower lip to stay silent, and after a few minutes he gave a kiss in that area. "Now we match." Kiana was huffing for air, her face flushed, he stared at her darkly, "I honestly think you look the best the way you were last night." He dropped his voice to that husky whisper, "Naked, sweaty, and squirming beneath my touch." She squeaked, her face was red, he leaned back, and grinned, "You may have an arsenal in the bedroom Selkie but I've got the teasing down to an art."

"I'm sure you do!" He chuckled again, took the empty cups, and left her alone to finish her business but her neck was now exposed for everyone to see. "He didn't want people to know. Pffft!" Lunch hour rolled around, Gou knocked on her door, she grabbed the bentos, and followed after her to the office. Kiana sat down in her customary seat but Gou pushed her chair towards Sousuke, "Hey, what gives?"

"I know _all_ about you two." Kiana tilted her head, "For one, I knew you two were going on a date last night because Sousuke said to not eat before the movie yesterday, and second Sousuke came in with a hickey on his neck. So I only surmised what could have happened. And you've got a matching one now too." Kiana chuckled, they opened the bentos, and began to eat their lunch with Rin staring at Sousuke while Gou and Kiana talked about swimming later that day.

"If you want to surprise Seijuro, I could tell you a few things," said Kiana to Gou. The two males stared at her, Gou's face flushed, and nodded. "In the locker room."

"Hey, you'll tell her but not me?"

"You're a guy, it doesn't work like that. Girls have their secrets and men have theirs." Rin laughed, he looked at Sousuke, and Kiana said, "He won't say anything either. In fact, I don't think he even remembers what I did." She smiled sweetly at him, Sousuke looked down at her, and ruffled her hair. Kiana finished her bento, took down her bun, then re-made it since her whale shark had messed it up.

The day progressed through, Gou hitched a ride with Kiana once more, when they arrived at the swim club, Haru was standing outside. They parked the scooter, got off, grabbed their bags, and she walked up to him. Haru patted her head, she smiled up at him, he leaned down, and whispered, "I'll always be here for you."

"I know, thank you Haru." He nodded, the three of them headed inside to change, once that was done, she took a seat on the diving block, and waited for Sousuke to arrive. Of course her eyes traveled around the club, looking for that woman but she was nowhere to be found, and she chuckled.

"What's so funny?" He sat down next to her, she turned so that she could massage his shoulder, "I see she's not here today."

"No, she's probably not allowed to be within a certain distance of those she once had as slaves or employees which means she can't be here when I'm here."

"Good to know."

She nodded, "I'll have to stop by a lab and get some blood work done." He glanced at her, "To see why she says I'm so unique. It has to be blood because there's nothing else."

"I work in a lab." Kiana looked over her shoulder with Sousuke to see Rei standing there, "It's a chemical lab but there's a blood work lab in the same building. I could take you there."

"You don't have to, Rei."

"Nonsense, I still owe you for working so diligently on that case. It's no trouble just come by on your day off."

"I will, thank you very much," she smiled happily. He smiled in return, once she finished with Sousuke, she pulled on her goggles, mounted the diving block, and mentally counted herself. Both males watched as she swam underneath the water rather than practice a stroke, Sousuke gave a small smile, and Rei chuckled.

When the detective's attention was on the laboratory technician, lavender eyes sparkled, "I see you've finally done it." Sousuke was silent, "It's good. She's good _for_ you." He nodded, "Glad to see you figured out your emotions even with a little help from a game." The teal-eyed male chuckled, Kiana resurfaced as they mounted the blocks on either side, and dove in.

Kiana was sitting on the edge of the pool, she heard a whistle, a look over her shoulder told her that Koari and Gou were waving her over. She got up, sauntered to them, sat down, and both girls huddled on either side of her. Koari whispered, "Give us details!" She chuckled, and whispered to them what they could do to their men to make things more interesting. Koari's face flushed, "Oh my god...Kiana!" She shrugged and the other woman started to laugh which brought Rin's attention. He raised an eyebrow at his girlfriend who had a red face, "Are you sure?!" She nodded, "Wow...I wonder what else you learned there." She placed her index finger over her lips and winked at her which prompted Koari to laugh even harder.

Gou huddled up and asked something for her, she nodded, whispered, and this made Seijuro stand by. He asked Rin, "What are they doing?"

"Gossiping."

"About what?"

"Sex techniques."

"What would Kiana know about that?"

Sousuke had rested his arms on the edge of the pool, he watched them, and stated to Seijuro, "She spent five years of her childhood in a brothel. She knows _a lot_ of things." It was then that the older Mikoshiba spotted the hickey on his neck, he smirked, and asked Sousuke if he knew about it. He sighed but his eyes never left Kiana as Gou leaned away with a blushing face and she only chuckled. "She showed me less than a handful of things and she has a lot more than that she knows." When asked about it, he shook his head, "I don't even remember what she did, whatever it was, I couldn't focus on it."

"It was that good?" asked Seijuro. Sousuke nodded, "Damn...I wonder what she told Gou."

"And Koari."

"Two different things so it won't be the same." Sousuke pulled himself out of the water, stood next to his Samezuka friends, and added quietly, "I don't want to disappoint her."

"How so?" asked Rin.

"With how I am. You know how I am, you know I get."

"Ah, possessive and controlling...so those other women said."

"Yeah."

"Just tell her, she'll understand."

He rubbed the back of his neck, "I don't know." There was a hand on his shoulder, he looked to the side to see a blue-haired male standing there, and he stared. "Haru?"

"She's not like the others so you don't have to be afraid." His voice was low so that only Sousuke would hear him, they watched as he approached Kiana, and he gave that hidden smirk. "Let's race." She nodded, got up, and followed after him with the other two not far behind her. They each mounted the blocks and he looked over his shoulder at Sousuke, "Watch." Haru turned to Kiana, she noticed, so the goggles were pulled down, "Push yourself this time." She tilted her head, "If you don't, I'm going to steal a kiss from you."

Kiana knew he was challenging her to prove a point to Sousuke, she didn't know what that point was, but she knew she had to win. Pink goggles covered blue eyes, she prepared herself, took in a few short breaths, and the other three bystanders watched as the glow in her eyes sparked into that blazing intensity they had seen against Yuri. Once the mark was set, the magic words of 'go' shouted, and Kiana dove in like it depended on her life. Her mind was only on trying to push herself, it's not that she didn't like Haru but he was only a friend, her heart and body belonged to Sousuke. All she saw was the wall approaching her, she flipped, pushed herself off with such strength that she wasn't sure what was going on, and finally the other side came into view. Her hand slapped the wall, the surface broke, and she pulled down her goggles so she could catch her breath. Kiana didn't realize that the bystanders were staring at her in awe, she looked at Haru as he sat on the edge of the pool.

"Very good." A smile graced her lips, a happy light in her eyes, and he added while looking up at Sousuke, "See?"

"I don't..."

Haru turned back to stare at the half-Irish woman who was still trying to catch her breath, the other two had finished as well, and were sitting on the edge of the pool. "She only wants you Sousuke so there's no reason to be bothered. Just tell her."

Kiana looked up at Sousuke, he sighed, and she smiled while he watched. It took a few more minutes but she was able to catch her breath finally, she pulled herself out of the water, and looked up at him then to Haru. "I don't have romantic interests in anyone but a chubby whale shark." There was that sweet innocent smile but it hid everything she felt and knew; it took Sousuke this moment to realize it. He chuckled, they looked at him, and Kiana's blue orbs focused on him. She tilted her head, "I understand what he means. Sperm bank practically yelled it at the station, she may have used a poor word choice but I understood what she meant."

"Do you really understand?"

Her eyes softened, "Yes. I waited eleven years, do you really think I'm going to squander all that away just so I can hang out with some guys?" He stared at her, "If I want to hang out with guys, there's always Makoto, Haru, Nagisa, Rei, Seijuro, Rin, and Momo. They're all _your_ friends that you trust so why would I hang with a man that you don't trust? Besides I prefer the company of Gou and Koari anyway." She gave him a smile that lit up her eyes, he sighed, ran a hand through his hair, and looked away from her with bashfulness. "You need a swim cap. The chlorine will damage your hair...eventually." Haru chuckled, she smiled at him, "I understand very well. I'm not a stupid bimbo like the others that just want to show you off Sousuke, I truly do care about you."

"I know Kiana."

Another innocent smile, "Okay so long as you know." Her phone was ringing, Gou stated that it was, she got up, made her way to her bag, and dried off before picking it up. "Hagano." She listened to her mother on the other end, she chuckled, "No, I wouldn't try to use the crock pot for that, it might take too long." Kiana took a seat, "Slice it in strips then dice it up, that will make it easier, you can even sear it on the stove with black pepper then toss it into a casserole. The flavor will leak out as it cooks." She nodded, "Yeah, just put raw rice around it, the rice will pick up the juice that's left and then you can put cheese on top if you want." Aoi stated she was so good at cooking, Kiana chuckled, "You taught me." Then she asked if she was interrupting anything, "No, just got out of a race. Have fun cooking Mom. I'll see you later." There was a pause, "Be careful. I love you." Aoi stated the same to her, the phone was hung up, and she put it away.

"Everything alright?" asked Gou.

"Yep, she's just trying to figure out how to cook the meat since I wasn't there this morning to toss it in the crock pot."

She laughed, "Everyone relies on you!" She shrugged, Gou hugged her, "You're awesome Kiana."

"So everyone keeps telling me." She laughed again while Koari stated she wanted a rematch with the Irish woman, "Sure." Gou wished her luck, she grinned, and put up a peace sign, "Thanks!"


	9. Venom

**Disclaimer:** I do not own _Free! Iwatobi Swim Club_ or any of the characters portrayed in it, they belong to Koji Oji, I simply own the character named Kiana Hagano, some others thrown in, and that is all. This was inspired by a a spur of the moment idea (don't judge me XD ) so I hope you all enjoy it as much as I do writing it.

 **Chapter 9** \- Venom

"How long will this take to analyze?" asked the half-Irish woman, the man put away the tubes of blood, and thought for a moment.

"Could be days to weeks depending on what you're looking for." He turned to look at her, "What _are_ you looking for?"

"Well...something dealing with snake venom."

"Why that? I've heard many reasons why people want their blood taken, what type, genetic diseases, etcerera but to see about snake venom? Never heard it. Can you elaborate?"

"I want to know if my blood is immune to snake venom."

"Like a natural anti-venom?"

"Something like that."

"Are you in trouble?"

"No but those I care about might be so I want to know."

"Well since you're Rei's friend and I _do_ owe him a favor, I'll send this right out."

Kiana smiled brightly, "Thank you so much!"

"It's no trouble but...if you _are_ immune to snake venom, what are you going do to do?" She tilted her head, "It would be a scientific discovery! I mean, someone with an immunity to snake venom?! It's amazing, anti-venom would be easily created with your blood, no more having to milk snakes and synthesize it."

"I know but...my blood may not be immune to _all_ venom. There's a lot of species out there."

"Any one in particular?"

She took in a deep breath, "Japanese Keelback, Habu, and Mamushi Pit Viper. One of those three, I'm sure of it."

"Alright, will do. One more thing."

"Hm?"

"Do you know your blood type?"

"No."

"Then I'll be sure to make a note for them to look at that too."

"Why?"

"Because if you're blood isn't naturally immune or stronger than most to snake venom then perhaps your blood type would suffice. Besides, it's always good to know your blood type."

"Thank you Doctor Watanabe."

"No problem. My Grandpa always says to do your best and then some."

"He's very wise."

"I know," he replied with a smile, she waved to him, thanked him again, and he smiled in return. "I'll let you know the results Miss Hagano. Although your blood type should be finished a lot sooner so I'll just give you a call to pick up your papers." She nodded, left the office, and headed out into the hall where Rei was waiting.

"How'd it go?"

"You shouldn't have wasted your favor on me."

"Don't worry about it."

"He's going to send it in to be analyzed, see if it's immune to snake venom and to find out my blood type."

"Snake venom?"

"A hunch. Three choices so far so we'll see."

"Alright. You're very perceptive."

"I have to be."

"No, you _choose_ to be in order to protect those around you. I honestly don't think you have natural antibodies for snake venom but perhaps it's your blood type." Kiana smiled and shrugged as he asked, "So how's Sousuke?"

She chuckled, "Both of us are busy. It's spring break now so there are _a lot_ of vacationers here and a lot of rough housing, wild parties, and that's about it."

"So it's slow for you?"

"Yeah but I'm alright. I help out with filing, organizing, and paperwork when I'm not analyzing things."

"You're a good worker but I meant something else."

Her eyes twinkled, "I know what you meant." He chuckled, "And I'm not telling, it's that simple." Rei couldn't help the chuckle that came out, "I'm happy, _he's_ happy. I can see it."

"So can I." She smiled, "He's such an idiot." A head tilt, "I don't think any of us realized it then but when we did joint training at Iwatobi on the weekends, I noticed he seemed rather distracted, when I asked him about it, he just brushed it off. But when we went to Samezuka to train, he was always invigorated, as if he just had the best night's rest. It was hard to keep up with him since he was far superior in swimming skills and shape to me but I never thought that the reason was because of a girl." A small smile slid on her face as they walked down the hall, "If he had said something, I would have tracked you down and asked you to come watch us swim."

Her face turned towards him, "Why?"

"Just to see how much better he could have done with you watching."

"What would me watching have to do with anything?"

Rei grinned, "I think he would have pushed himself further just to impress you." It was silent for a minute, "Or to have you massage his shoulder." Kiana suddenly burst into laughter, Rei couldn't help the infectious chuckle.

"That would have been something huh?" He nodded, "I did go to a tournament though. I think it was districts or something, I'm not sure. But Sousuke didn't swim, instead you let Rin take your place."

"You were there?"

"Yeah, Sousuke mentioned it once during high school, I wanted to go see him swim but I didn't think that Samezuka was a swimming school. I just thought he did that as a club thing, I didn't know swimming was such a serious sport until recently."

"I wish you could have met us in high school, it would have been different."

"You think so?"

"I know so."

"Well, I'm here now."

"That's very true." They chuckled together, "Since I have you alone for the time being, Sousuke really is possessive." Kiana looked up at him, Rei's face was serious, and she held a questioning look in her eyes. "He's protective and possessive and will do anything to show that so be transparent and up front with him. I don't want to see him go through what he's been through with those other trollops. I may not have known him long like Rin, Haru, and Gou but I do consider him a friend."

Kiana patted his arm, "No worries here Rei. I'm always blunt because it's how I was raised to be and I don't believe that you should lie to someone you care about, even if it may hurt them. So this conversation will be told to him but not in as much detail."

"Thank you Kiana. You're very understanding."

"It takes words and actions to understand each other because no one is a telepath." Rei laughed, they exited the building, "I guess this is where I leave you." He nodded, "Don't work too hard okay?"

"Sure. You too but what are you going to do now?"

"I don't know. I just had this planned and it turned out to be a lot more quick than I thought. Perhaps I'll cruise around on the Vespa."

"Iwatobi's pretty."

"I know. Thank you again Rei, if there's anything I can do then let me know."

"Just take care of Sousuke."

"You don't have to ask me that." They chuckled once more, she waved her farewell to him, she hopped on her Vespa, and backed it out of the space. One more wave and she headed off to where ever her transportation wanted to take her. She was sitting at a light when her phone rang, she picked it up, "Hagano." Her mother's voice was ragged but those blue eyes narrowed, "Hang on!" Kiana zipped off through the cars, she dialed the emergency number then began to give the address where she lived, and the second person she dialed was her father. "Dad, Mom's in trouble. I've called the hospital but I'm not sure what's going on. I'm heading over there now." She pulled in, parked the scooter, put the stand down, and yanked the keys out. Sirens were heard behind her, she ran up the stairs, taking two at a time when she could, and immediately opened the door. The neighbors who were home at the time began to emerge, wondering what was going on, and blue eyes spotted her mother on the floor. Immediately she dropped everything by the door and ran to her side.

Aoi was breathing very shallowly, her eyes looked around for any sort of marking, she saw an open wound on the inside of her forearm, it was small incision, the size of a paring knife which wasn't far from her, and something else. Upon closer inspection there were two puncture wounds, her father burst in, and was breathing heavily. "Is she?"

"I called don't worry she'll make it Dad, Mom's tough." He gave a weak smile but her eyes returned to the wound on the forearm.

"What is that?"

"From her assailant."

"What are you doing?"

Kiana stared at the puncture bites then dialed the emergency number again, "I just called for an ambulance," she gave the address, "I need you to have Japanese Keelback anti-venom at the ready when Aoi Yamamoto gets to the hospital. She's been poisoned by it." They asked her how she knew, "Just do it! I'll explain when she's recovering!" Her voice held so much authority in it that it shocked Akira but they wanted to know who she was, "Kiana Hagano adopted daughter to Aoi Yamamoto and Chief of Police Akira Yamamoto." Her voice was dark but they obliged her, "Thank you!" The ambulance arrived, they took her away, and Akira looked at her. "I'm staying here. I'm searching."

Those blue eyes were dark, "Sure." He stepped out, "Officer Hasegawa, Detective Ichinose, mark this as a crime scene and let Hagano do her job. Don't let anyone interefere."

"Sir!" They both replied and began to do what they were told, she always had her satchel by the door, she opened it up, pulled on gloves, and began to analyze the items she knew she would need. The only person allowed inside was the crime scene photographer, things were marked off so he could photograph them while Ichinose stood inside watching.

"Do you know what you're looking for?" asked Touya.

"Yes." Her reply was flat, he watched her pick up the paring knife, slip it into a bag then move on to another part of the apartment, and finally she stopped by the trash can. Hissing could be heard which made the photographer pause, "Don't move." She deliberately made her foot steps loud so as not to startle the snake, she looked between the wall and the counter, there it was. Hiding in the dark, she reached in, grabbed it by the head very gently, and pulled it out. "Easy there," she coaxed it, the snake seemed to understand that she wasn't a threat, however, the truth was this snake knew her. "Hello Ares."

"Ares?" asked the photographer.

"Biggest evidence yet."

"How do you know?"

She looked at him, "I know this snake and this snake knows me. I took _excellent_ care of him for five years, they don't forget that."

"Oh."

"Come on then." He wrapped himself around her neck, sat comfortably, and she began to analyze everything else all the while the reptile was happy to be around a familiar neck. She finished, packed up her satchel, grabbed her field bag, made sure the satchel was sealed, and headed out once everyone else had gone. The door was locked up, the cars left one by one, she texted Sousuke if he could come pick her up, and he said that he'd be there in ten minutes. The car pulled up, she opened the door, got in, and the snake hissed. Sousuke stared at it, she caressed the chin, "Easy Ares. He's a friend." It settled against her neck, "Iwa-."

"Iwatobi Hospital." She was shocked at him, "Chief texted me basic details which is why I'm here so fast." Kiana thanked him, he only nodded in response as he drove towards the hospital as fast as the speed limit would allow, and once they arrived; they both got out. Kiana made sure to grab both of her bags and the car was locked up, "What about Ares?"

"He's evidence." Sousuke chuckled, she smiled, and they entered the hospital; the nurses were also informed that he was evidence and a quick flash of both Detective and Forensic badges let them be. They entered into the elevator, went to the proper floor, and she knocked on the door; Akira told them to enter. "Hi Dad." He got up, about to hug her but noticed the snake, "Luckily he's cold." Both males tilted their heads at her as she removed him, pulled off scarf, wrapped him in it, then settled him into her satchel. "He'll stay there for now."

Akira embraced her, "My little Kiana. Thank you so much for this. I don't know..."

"It's alright Dad. It's alright." She returned that hug but he squeezed tighter, "I can't breathe!" He let her go, tears in his eyes, and he sniffled while turning away. The three of them sat near Aoi's bed, the doctor came in, and said that she'll recover just fine.

"Thank god!" exclaimed Akira.

"Yes, perhaps but Miss Hagano?" She looked at him, "How did you know _precisely_ what snake it was that bit your mother? It's highly suspicious, as if you had done this yourself."

"How dare you?!" hollered Akira.

"Mister Yamamoto, as Chief of Police you should understand what this means."

"It's okay Dad. I can explain, quite thoroughly and I'll do the same at the station if need be." Akira sat down, huffed, and Kiana looked up at the doctor, "From ages five to ten I was working as a kitchen girl in a brothel called Mythical Girls run by Madame Snake. I was too young at the time to be a _working girl_ so she put me in charge of cooking, cleaning, and caring for her snakes. There were about twenty-seven in total, all between poisonous and non. Each snake knew who I was, I was the only one who interacted with them, cleaning their cages, feeding them, giving them baths, spending time with them, and so they learned my voice and my heat signature." She paused to let it sink in, "When you spend that much time around snakes you learn what species they are and three of those snakes were her prized pets, all venomous. One was Medusa the Mamushi Pit Viper, two was Hades the Habu, and three was Ares the Japanese Keelback."

The doctor was silent, "As you can see, I spent a lot of time with them and I knew which species they were because, should I have ever gotten bit, then I would need to know which anti-venom was necessary to prevent death." Kiana took a breath, Sousuke wrapped his fingers around hers, she smiled up at him, he nodded, and her attention was turned back to the doctor. "Not only did I know what species each one was, I made sure to memorize _how_ the venom was injected. Japanese Keelbacks cannot puncture right away, it takes them time, my mother has a cut on the inside of her forearm then two punctures there. It helps if a Keelback has an open wound rather than trying to bite and tear through skin."

"I see..."

"It's not your fault. You're being thorough, there's nothing to blame." She looked at her father who held a guilty face, "No harm done."

"Thank you for your honesty Miss Hagano. The investigation I leave up to your father. She should wake up soon."

"Thank you Doctor." He nodded his head and left the room, Kiana looked at her mother, "It wasn't long ago." This prompted both males to look at her, "Mom called me, her voice was ragged which means that she called me just after the woman left the apartment, so within about two to three minutes or so. Mom's going to be just fine." Kiana felt her head being pulled against a chest, she looked up to see her father, and she could tell that he was trying to hide his tears. Kiana got up, wrapped her arms around him, and he buried his face into her stomach while his arms wrapped around her back. "It's alright Dad. Everything's going to be alright." She held him close, rubbing his back to calm him down, and her blue eyes looked over to Sousuke. He nodded to her and they both knew that she was going to find out who did this and Sousuke was the one going to bring them in; with force.

Ten minutes passed by when Akira was able to calm down, she released him, took a seat, and looked at shirt. She chuckled, Akira sniffled, "I'll get you a new one."

"You don't have to." He looked at her, she pointed to Sousuke, "It's his job now." Akira looked at Sousuke, his face was stoic, only staring at her, and the Chief laughed. Kiana smiled, "They say laughter is the best medicine."

"I...think...I...taught you...that." The three in the room looked at Aoi as she stirred, her eyes opened, and she coughed, "Jesus." Kiana got some water for her, Akira helped her sit up, and she looked at Sousuke. "Well...I guess...you..can..stay." He nodded to her, water was given to her, she drank some of it through a straw, "What happened?" Akira filled her in, "Oh." There was some silence, "I didn't see who it was...they must have followed me up the stairs."

"Mom?" She looked at Kiana, "Do you want to meet the one responsible?" They only stared at her, she reached into her satchel, pulled out the snake, "This is Ares."

"How..do..you know?"

There was a brand on the back of the neck, "That's Madame Snake's brand. She put it on all of her snakes in case one went missing and ended up on the black market." Aoi glared at the snake but she sighed, Kiana brought him closer, "Ares, friend." The snake flicked his tongue at Aoi's raised hand, he settled down, and her mother chuckled.

"Hard to believe he did this."

"Only with help. He actually wouldn't have been able to get through your skin without that cut on your forearm. By the time you realized he was biting you, you would have been able to get him off before he could pierce through."

"You're so smart Kiana." She shrugged, "What's going to happen to Ares?"

Akira sighed, "I don't know. He's evidence right now so we'll have to take care of him."

"We can keep him at the station in my office," replied Sousuke. They looked at him, "Ichinose and Hanasaki have their own office while Rin and I have ours. He can stay in a cage there and Kiana can take care of him. No one will know."

"That's...not a bad idea," replied the Chief. Kiana nodded, "Alright. We'll do that. Just get everything you need for him today, keep him safe, and sneak him in the office in the morning."

"I also would suggest staying in a hotel Dad, at least until I can clean."

Aoi chuckled, "I've got a hotel right here and everything is clean." She smiled at her mother and the woman with gold eyes grinned, "I know where _you'll_ be staying." Kiana's face flushed red as she put Ares into the satchel once more and Sousuke coughed. "Oh stop, I already know." She motioned for Sousuke to come closer he did and she whispered, "Make her sad..." Aoi trailed off to let his imagination do the work for him, he nodded, and she sighed happily. "Good."

"Don't worry Missess Yamamoto, I don't intend to let her be sad if I can help it." Kiana looked up at him, her face turned even darker, and she huffed. Kiana muttered something about not wanting to be teased, he replied, "But you're irresistible." Her face turned darker and Aoi stated that she loved her freckles, "I do too."

"Alright, alright, enough of this. Just go get some clothes and stuff for Ares. I'll see you two tomorrow morning," stated Akira.

Aoi laughed, "Don't be jealous!"

"I'm not."

"Yes you are."

"No I'm not."

"Kiana, Sousuke, please go. I have to teach your father a lesson again in what means to argue with me." She nodded and the two left, "Take care of Ares!" Kiana waved and the pair left the room, the hospital, and both sighed as they entered into fresh air.

"Your mom is tough."

"Yeah."

"Come, let's get you an overnight bag." She looked up at him, he smirked, and she blushed as they walked back to his car. A ring tone echoed through the air, Sousuke looked at it, "Rin?" There was an affirmative, "What's up?" Some chattering, "Tonight's not good." He looked down at Kiana, he sighed, "Fine. You can stay over but I'll have some other company too." More words, "Yeah. I'll be there at about eight. See you."

"Rin's staying over too?"

"Yeah, him and Koari were arguing apparently. Said he's bringing her along so I can mediate."

"I thought they were happy."

"They are but they have trouble sometimes and they come and stay with me to cool off at the same time."

"Why doesn't Koari stay with Gou?"

"Because Seijuro's with her all the time."

"Oh..I see...well I'll be there to help!"

He gave a small smile, "Yeah, you will."

"I have an idea." They got inside the car, Sousuke started it, and they headed out to the mall in order to get clothes for her. "I can cook dinner with Koari's help, it'll take her mind off of whatever's bothering her and maybe get her to open up."

"Sounds good."

"Is your house clean?"

"Always."

"Good." He smiled at her as they drove the mall, he told her that she doesn't seem upset with what happened, "Oh I'm furious but I'm not the kind of person that exposes her emotions. I tend to keep the rage bottled until the right moment to let it loose."

"Like in the bedroom?"

Her face flushed, "No. I'm saving it for when we bring in Madame Snake. Refocusing my anger allows me to better analyze things and compile an _extensive_ amount of evidence."

"Remind me to not get on your bad side."

She smirked, "As long as you have nothing to hide then I won't find anything."

"Do you know people?"

"No but my Dad does and those people are in Interpol which means they're going to love this case."

"So we'll get to see them huh?"

"Probably especially if it involves her. If I can find evidence that links Madame Snake to this then she's not ever getting out of prison this time. I just need to find that link."

He reached over and wrapped his large hand around her smaller one, she looked at it then glanced up at him, his eyes never left the road, "You'll find it. I know you will because you're the best forensic."

"Thank you Sousuke."

"Thank me later." She chuckled and stated that she would, "I bet." Kiana laughed, he picked up her hand, twisted it, and kissed the back of it. "Everything's going to be alright. Your words are true as long as you're on the case." Kiana, in turn, kissed the back of his hand as well, he smirked, and pulled into a parking space. "Is Ares going to stay in your satchel?"

"Yes, I'll take it with me, there's very important evidence in here."

"Alright." They entered the first store, he watched as she quickly found what she would need, an overnight bag, under garments, a pajama set, a couple shirts, and socks. She paid quickly and stuffed everything into the overnight bag, they left, headed for a drug store where she bought toothpaste, a toothbrush, and mouth wash.

The next bit was far more interesting for Sousuke as they entered a pet store, she found the proper cage for him, a heating lamp, hot rock, pine bedding, water dish, and he watched as she looked over the mice. Kiana bought a single small one, it was packed, everything paid for, and they headed out to his car once more. "Can we set him up at your place for now?" He nodded, she smiled, "Good, he won't last much longer like this." Once everything was packed up, they headed back to his house, of course a few neighbors were out, wanting to see Sousuke's new girlfriend, and they gasped when she got out.

A middle-aged woman across the street yelled, "Hello Sousuke! How are you?"

"I'm fine Misses Sohma."

"Do you need any help?"

"No thank you." Sousuke watched as she took the cage with everything inside it, he grabbed her overnight bag, closed the trunk, and leaned in close. "See what you did?"

"I do and I like it." Kiana paused to look across the street, "Hello Misses Sohma, I am Kiana Hagano. How are you doing today?" The woman grinned and stated that she was fine and dandy, "That's great to hear! It's very nice to have met you." She bowed as best she could and the woman responded by doing the same; they parted ways after that. Kiana smirked at him as she headed towards the house and Misses Sohma squealed with joy. The door was opened, closed behind them, and she removed her shoes; Sousuke lead her to the living room where she could set up the cage. "Okay, this won't take long at all." He was about to sit down until there was a knock on his door, "It has to be Rin!" He chuckled, opened it, and there stood his best friend and his girlfriend.

"Come in."

They entered, Koari said, "Thanks again Sou-Kiana!"

"Hi Koari."

"What have you got there?" The woman removed her shoes and immediately bounded over to her to see what was going on. Rin stared, looked at Sousuke, and he said he'd tell him soon. "Is that for a snake?"

"Yep. Actually he's evidence."

"Really?!" Once it was all set up, the hot rock on place, Kiana pulled the snake out of her bag while Sousuke explained to Rin what happened, "Woah."

He hissed, "Ares! Friends." The snake calmed down, she placed him in the cage, then tossed in the mouse, and shut the lid. The latches were snapped shut along with the reinforcements that she bought. "All good here." The cage was picked up, set on the coffee table, and the others watched as the Keelback lunged at the mouse. It buried its fangs into the side then let the venom do its work before eating it whole.

"Ares?" asked Rin. Sousuke explained the situation to him, he stared at the snake, "Shouldn't you kill it?"

"No, Ares is evidence. He has that woman's brand on the back of his neck for all to see and I'm the only one apart from those at Interpol and my Dad that now what it looks like."

"Ah."

"Koari?" The woman looked at her, "Wanna help me cook?"

"Sure!" The two women headed into the kitchen, Sousuke told them to make themselves at home, "Who are you talking to Sousuke? I practically consider this my second home!" He shook his head while taking a seat on the couch, Rin next to him. Koari looked at Kiana, the woman had a lager in her hand, the cap off, she motioned to do the same, and she shook her head. "No, I'm mad at him."

"Forgiving is stronger than grudging." Koari sighed, grabbed one, removed the top, and followed her into the living. She mimicked Kiana by putting down a coaster then setting the bottle on top and her voice was soft, "Keep the bottle on the coaster or you'll be eating that coaster." Rin nodded, Sousuke smirked at her as she walked away, followed by an ecstatic Koari.

"The hell?!"

"Her phobia applies here as well."

"It's not her home. She doesn't even live here."

"But she told me that I'm important to her therefore this home is important to her."

"Okay. I'll try." There was some silence, "We should totally have her host a part or something, it would be hilarious." Sousuke nodded, "Well...where to start?"

Koari told Kiana, "He's an idiot! Rin is such a jerk!"

"How so? That's a broad area."

The other woman chuckled as she cut vegetables and Kiana cut the meat for the stew they were making, "Well...I wanted to do something sensual but he just wasn't in the mood for it. I've been patient with him but he just...I know when he gets in his moods that he doesn't want to be bothered but I thought that sex helps men to relax."

"Only if they don't have to focus on you."

"Oh..so he wants me to please him and that's it? Unacceptable!" Kiana chuckled as chunks were tossed into a pot, she took another strip, and began to cut it into cubes. "How do you do it with Sousuke? I mean..I know you've only done it once or so but isn't he demanding?"

"Here's what you need to know and I take this straight from those five years I told you about." Koari nodded her head, "Men are _always_ demanding whether it be in the workplace or the bedroom, it's in their nature just like it's in their nature to not carry heavy items for extended periods of time. They're genetically meant to lift for short periods then set down whereas women can carry heavy items for long periods of time like children." The Takanaka woman chuckled and Kiana smiled while cutting up another strip, "Men are not easily adaptable as women, use that to your advantage. If you want to be pleased but he doesn't want it, do it yourself."

"I don't like that."

"Or you could tease him into doing it."

"Huh?"

That was when Koari saw the flash in her blue eyes, the devilish little glint that proved she was not so innocent, "When you're laying in bed or on the couch and you want some loving from him then slowly move your hands down to your waist, it'll attract his attention, don't look at him because it'll be more fun that way." Koari's face began to flush, "Then just slide your hands like this along the inside of your thighs." Kiana showed her without dirtying the floor or her clothes, "Then slowly, gently rub yourself, and make sure your eyes are closed at this point. He'll probably ask who you're fantasizing about, _that's_ when you look at him. Half-lidded and reply in a low voice that it's him."

"Does that work?"

"Worked for the girls at the brothel, why wouldn't it work for you?"

"I don't know. That's brave."

"No, I think I'd call it the ultimate teasing." They chuckled together while Rin and Sousuke had their own talk, the laughter made them pause to look at their chefs in the kitchen before returning to their conversation. "The idea is to put him first because, there's a good saying, behind every great man is a great woman. If you do things for him, you'll be more desirable when you're not around him. Little things you know?"

"Like the beer?"

"Right. It's not much but Rin was grateful because he didn't have to ask which allowed him to talk to Sousuke about whatever it is that he thinks you did wrong."

"I see. You're a really good counselor."

"I wouldn't say that. I just gave you sex advice on how to tease your boyfriend. That's not what a good counselor would do."

Koari guffawed, "You're absolutely right! You're the best girlfriend ever!"

"I'm glad I could make you laugh. You feel better?"

"Loads. Now I just want to go home and do that."

Kiana laughed, "But you have to remember that being transparent is key in a relationship. Don't hide anything." She nodded, "Speaking of that, Sousuke?" He looked at her from the den while she glanced at him, "Rei and I had a conversation today about how you're possessive and protective. I'm fine with it, really and I told him that I'd tell you we had that conversation." He nodded, "I don't mind, honestly. It's nice to have my very own live whaleshark to protect me from all danger, land and sea." She smiled at him but he knew there was something else in her eyes, and he turned away from her.

Rin patted him as he stated, "You've no idea what she does to me when we're alone." He ran a hand through his hair, "So are you going to apologize?"

"Yeah. I suppose." He nodded, "Thanks Sousuke."

"Don't worry about it." There was a tapping, they looked at the cage, "Kiana...Ares wants you." She cleaned her hands, sauntered to the cage, and looked down at him. The snake looked up at her, she chuckled, "What?" The lid was removed, she plucked him out, and settled him around her neck; he wound his way snugly. "Isn't that dangerous?"

"No, he just wants some comfort, he's not used to this. Give it a few more minutes, a hot bath, and he'll be fine."

"You really know him huh?" asked Rin.

"Five years I took care of him."

"Damn." Ares settled himself against her neck after she told him be still, she returned to the kitchen, washed her hands, and finished off the meat. As the vegetables were tossed in, the lid was placed on it, and the stove set to simmer.

"In about one hour it'll be ready," said Kiana.

"Great! Now what?" asked Koari.

"Ever see a snake take a bath?" The three looked at her, she looked at Sousuke, "Can I use your bathtub?" He nodded and they followed after her since they were all very curious as to how a snake could take a bath. The tub was filled up with warm water, only a quarter of the way, she removed him from her neck, and let him slide into the water. He maneuvered through it but she gently pulled him back to the shallow end so he could start over. To the other three it was fascinating to see how she handled the poisonous snake, it was as if she wasn't bothered by it, and the snake itself seemed to enjoy the warm bath. Kiana allowed him the exercise and warmth for ten minutes until she felt the water start to cool off. She removed him, ran her hand over his scales, drained the tub, and returned to his cage. Immediately she set him on the hot rock, he curled up, and lay still with even breaths. "There, he'll be fine now."

"You...really know how to care for them," replied Rin.

"Not just Ares but twenty-six others." He stared at her, she shrugged, and motioned for Koari to come with her to the kitchen. They noticed that she washed her hands thoroughly then stirred the stew before setting it to simmer and they returned to the den. Rin cleared his throat, Koari looked at him, and he apologized for acting harshly.

"Don't worry about it Rin. You know you don't have to apologize to me."

"You're so forgiving."

"Not really but Kiana told me some things that make sense."

His red eyes turned to those blue ones, "What did you tell her?"

"Girl secrets!" He only shook his head while Sousuke smirked, Kiana kept her smile but it faded when Koari poked her in the side. Those blue eyes looked into those hazel ones, "Yes?"

"Have you ever thought what it would be like if you _weren't_ a forensic?"

"No."

"Really?"

"Yes. I have no reason to think otherwise, it's what I've always wanted to do."

"But..what if you couldn't get your degree, what was your backup plan?"

"Didn't have one."

"Why not?"

"My life..." she looked at the coffee table, "isn't something that can be planned out, not even by me. I base it all on those five years of my childhood, anything could happen there. One day you're fine and the next you're getting third degree burns of snake scales on your body. It wasn't a place where you plan out your life because it could change within a second so your plans would have to be altered on a whim."

"How did you survive?"

"Living day-to-day and in the moment. Whatever crossed my path, I dealt with it then." Her eyes turned back to Koari, "Don't worry about me. If I couldn't have become a forensic then I would have thought of something else within a few hours."

"Like what?" goaded Rin.

"Open a pastry shop."

"Are you serious?"

"Yes."

He leaned back in the couch and laughed, "That's just like you!" She smiled warmly at him, Sousuke gave her a small smile even though his face was still as stoic as ever, and her blue eyes twinkled.

She let out a chuckle and Sousuke asked, "Did you find out what you were looking for?" She tilted her head, "At the lab."

"No, the samples were sent off to be analyzed but I'm not entirely sure what she meant."

"Lab? Are you ill?" asked Koari.

"No. Madame Snake confronted us at the movies and said that I'm very unique which was why she didn't want to let me go and _still_ doesn't want to let me go. The only thing I could think of was that she meant my blood. I went to Rei's lab and he took me to a blood lab to get some samples anaylzed just to see what's going on."

"You've never given blood before?"

"No. I didn't like it at all." Sousuke frowned at her, she noticed, "It's okay. I didn't cry, Doctor Watanabe was very good." He nodded but the frown remained, "I'll find out in a few days and hopefully I won't have to give any more blood." They laughed, she smiled at them but she knew that Sousuke was still frowning, so she stared at him, "You were working. What was I supposed to do?"

"Ask your Dad to give me the day off." Blue eyes widened, Rin and Koari stared at the pair since they were sitting across from one another, "He would have done it. He would have rearranged the schedule so that I could go with you."

"I can't have him do that..."

"It's not abusing his power if he decides to change something on his own."

"You're very sneaky Sousuke." He continued to stare at her, she sighed, gave him a gentle smile, "Next time I'll ask him." He nodded, she knew it was the end of the conversation so shey turned to Koari, "So how long have you been with Rin?"

"Six years!" She smiled, "I know what you're thinking Kiana!" She smirked, "I don't know though. It's really up to him." Rin and Sousuke were confused but left it alone, "Hey, hey!" Kiana looked at her friend, " _If_ you were getting married what kind of ring would you like?"

"Oh...that's easy." Koari inched closer, "One that has a Lover's Knot." Hazel irises blinked a few times, "It looks like intertwining ropes sometimes in the shape of hearts, it's a Celtic symbol for love. There's also the Eternity Knot, similar to a Lover's Knot in appearance but it stands for endless life or compassion."

"You really like your home country."

"Not really but I do enjoy the lore of it and the food." Koari laughed, she smiled, and the two males only stared at them until Rin asked if this is what women talked about. Kiana nodded, "Of course it is. What do you think we talk about?"

"Your sex lives and how you compare your lovers to one another."

Kiana scrunched up her nose, "Why would women want to do that? I've heard enough of that to last me a lifetime and none of it was appetizing."

"What about us?" asked Sousuke.

She stared at him, closed her eyes happily, and replied, "I don't kiss and tell Sousuke."

Rin laughed, "Sousuke, you should have asked her out in high school!"

"I know."

"Why didn't you?" inquired Koari.

"Because I was a frightened Selkie and he an idiotic Whaleshark." This prompted the other two to laugh, she locked eyes with Sousuke, she gave him a gentle smile that made her eyes twinkle, and he gave a small on in return. "But I'm here now!"

"And that's all that matters," he answered. Kiana nodded, her phone rang, she grabbed it, and answered it. A few words were spoken, she nodded, and told her father to be safe. Once it was set on the coffee table, Sousuke looked at her, "Everything fine?"

"Yeah, Mom's doing very well and Dad said that he'd stay there the night."

"We'll get her," chimed in Rin.

Blue eyes turned to him, "Oh I know. It's just a matter of when."

"What do you mean?"

"She attacked my mother in _her own home_ , made a mess of things which activated her ataxophobia, and she had the gall to leave Ares there like a taunt; as if she doesn't care about him." The three of them saw her eyes darken, the rage in those blue depths, "I'm going to compile as much evidence as I can so that woman has _no chance_ of getting out on probation. It's one thing to attack me but to attack my mother and filthy the home while leaving one of her prized pets there is an entire other matter." Her gaze turned to Koari, "I'm sure Rin discusses some cases with you," she nodded, "so you'll see soon enough how good of a forensic I can really be when someone crosses me."

"You're a tough one aren't you?"

"Only on the outside, I'm really very gelatinous." Koari burst into laughter followed by Rin, she turned to look at Sousuke, he was smiling at her, those teal pools glowing with arousal, and she blushed lightly while getting up to stir the stew. While in there she began to prepare rice and tea that she found while rummaging around in the cupboards.

From the living room, Rin called, "How good are you with kids?"

"Why?"

"We're having some visit the station tomorrow."

"They don't bother me."

"Oh good, I'll be sure to send them your way."

She chuckled as she returned to her seat next to Koari, "Be my guest, I'm sure I can control a whole gaggle of them."

"Were there other children at the brothel?" asked the chocolate-haired woman.

"No, just me." She could see that she was worried by the movement of her eyebrows, "Don't worry about me. I'm fine, okay?" She nodded, "Do I have to smush your face in a pie or cake to get my point across?" Koari chuckled, "I'm alright."

"Okay, you've got my number if you ever want to talk."

"I know." There was a pause, "Speaking of that, come here." The other woman leaned in close and Kiana whispered to her that she wanted her to take pictures of her in the locker room at the club while she was changing and rinsing off then send them to Sousuke.

"So as long as yo do the same for me!" They grinned at one another, Rin looked between them, and glared suspiciously, "We're just planning some things! Nothing to worry about!"

"Yeah, that's not suspicious Koari," replied the Selkie. Takanaka guffawed her laughter once more, Kiana smiled, and Sousuke stared at her; she could feel that burning gaze and it made a familiar warmth in her lower abdomen.

After more chatting, Kiana got up to get the table prepared, Koari watched her, as did the other two males, and they noticed how she prepared four settings. The woman in the den smirked and stated that she'd make a great housewife quietly and Sousuke only nodded mutely. The glasses were set up, the utensils, and the bowls. Rice had been prepared as well, so she spooned the rice into a bowl, indented the top mound, and ladled stew over it. Each bowl was set at the table, tea was poured into the glasses, and she looked at them; a light blush on her face. She gave an involuntary cough, they got up from their seats, and sat at the table.

"It's smells really good!" exclaimed Koari.

"No kidding," replied Rin.

Sousuke was silent, he took a seat next to her, and felt a pat on the top of her head; she looked up to see him staring at her. She smiled happily, "I hope you like it." As they began to eat, Koari exclaimed how delicious it was which made her smile in return. "I can give you the recipe if you'd like." She nodded her thanks before taking another bite.

"Kiana," she looked at the magenta-haired male, "You're going to make some guy _really_ happy."

"You know Ito said the same thing to me."

"Really?"

"Yep."

"What'd you reply?"

"I hope I already make some guy really happy."

"I bet." She gave a sweet, innocent smile before eating her own food. Sousuke watched her, she looked up at him, and said that it was a spoon not a fork. "What are you talking about?"

"I use my fork differently is all." He nodded as they ate, "There's more in the pot if you want more." The two nodded to her while Sousuke ate silently, praising her cooking skills by placing a kiss on the side of her temple, her face flushed darkly which prompted Koari to laugh, and Rin to smirk.

-::::::-

The following morning, Kiana had gotten up early to prepare coffee, bentos, and breakfast as well take a shower. She started with her shower although getting out of Sousuke's grasp was another matter altogether, she smiled at his sleeping form, how he had her in a mock iron grip but she was still able to get loose. Her lips touched the corner of his mouth, she left it at that, as she headed to the bathroom for the morning, once finished, her hair was wrapped up in a braided bun, and she dressed in her jeans with a new button down pink work shirt on top.

She looked inside the refrigerator, found nothing of use in there, she sighed with a smile, "He needs more food in here."

Arms wrapped her waist, she was pulled back into a broad chest, and a low voice near her ear, "Who needs more food?" Her face flushed, she bit her lower lip as his hands trailed down to her thighs, fingers traced circles on her thighs, and she bit back a moan. Deep chuckles reverberated through her body from him, "Someone's hungry and not for food apparently." Her face turned darker, "You thought you could steal a kiss from a detective Selkie?" He nuzzled her neck, she couldn't help the quiet moan that escaped her, and he smirked at her reaction, "So you did, did you?" Kiana didn't trust herself to speak so she remained silent, "I'll have to give you your punishment later as there's no time right now." A meek nod, he traced the tip of his nose down to the base of her neck, he moved the collar aside, and gently sank his teeth into her flesh. Before she could moan aloud, he quickly placed his palm over her mouth to silence her, and continued his ministrations. He could feel her warm breath come out in pants against his palm, he smirked, kissed the spot he abused, and hid it from view as he withdrew. "I'm going to shower."

"S-sure." She coughed, he smirked, kissed the side of her face, and released her so that he could prepare for the day as well. Kiana prepped four coffee mugs, she brought cream and sugar, and waited for the others to get up. The morning was bustling, Koari left with Rin so she could get home to rest and he could go to work while Sousuke opted to take Kiana with him since her Vespa was at the apartment.

"About this morning," she smiled, he glanced at her, and knew he didn't have to say anything else. Kiana simply watched the scenery pass by until they were able to get to the station. It was also agreed that Ares would stay at Sousuke's place since it was safest, his tank was hidden in a corner, and he was still sleeping but it was fascinating for him to watch Kiana talk with him, comfort the snake, and spend some time with him before they left.

Once inside, she waved to Gou, who only grinned, and headed for the break room to start the coffee for the morning shift. After that she returned to her office, Sousuke watched as she drew the blinds shut, then closed the door, and a smile in his direction before the door shut completely. It wasn't long after that when she reopened the blinds, logged the evidence box with the room, and was on her way back when she heard laughing. She paused on the upper floor as a small class of children entered with two chaperons on either side. They were talking with Gou, passes were being printed out, and the children were in awe of their surroundings. Kiana leaned on the railing, she looked at them with a smile, and realized that Rin was supposed to be their guide. He was failing miserably at it so she decided to step in to help out, she patted his shoulder, he looked at her, "Thank goodness!"

She laughed, "You're not good at this are you?" He gave a chuckle so she put her index finger and her thumb in her mouth, and whistled. The noise brought the attention of everyone in the vicinity, including Sousuke since he had just entered the main area. The children looked up at her, blue eyes sparkled, "Okay little ones, this is Detective Matsuoka." They collectively said hello, he did the same, "I'm Kiana and the rules are as follows: you do not speak unless you raise your hand first, you do not wander from your group, and if you have a question then be polite first. Got it?" They all nodded and her voice was always gentle towards them, "Any questions?"

A child raised her hand, Kiana nodded, "Are you an officer too?"

"Nope! I'm a forensic." They stared at her, "I work in that little room over there," she pointed to it, they looked at it, and returned to her. "When Detective Matsuoka finds things at a scene, he brings it to me, and I analyze it."

Another hand, she nodded, "What do you find?"

"Sometimes I find fingerprints, hair, nails, dirt, whatever I can locate. When I have those things then I can find out who someone is or where someone has been just by the dirt under their nails." They gasped in awe at her and she laughed, "Well come on! You want to the see the rest of the station right?" They nodded excitedly, she smiled at them, looked at their teachers, and they nodded to her with smiles of their own. "Okay then, let's go!" Rin smirked, she looked up at him while she patted his back, "I got this. I know you have paperwork." He thanked her, she shrugged, and he waved to them, he received a collected bye from the children before he met up with Sousuke on the upper floor.

Kiana started by introducing them to Gou and the dispatch center, Rin grinned, "She's really good with them huh?"

"Yeah."

"You like them?" Sousuke stared at his friend, as if he wasn't going to answer, "Fine, don't answer. Not only would she make a great housewife but a mother too." The pair watched as they moved on from the dispatch center to show them the rookie police officers then the junior ones, the seniors, and they headed up the stairs to see the Chief. At this they entered their own office so they could get to work on the case file from her home.

"Sorry little ones, Chief isn't in yet." They sighed, "Hey, you wanna see were we keep the evidence?" They cheered, she lead them down the hall, introducing them to the officer there, he was grinning at her, and took over talking about his job and how important it was to make sure that all evidence was returned by the end of the night. Suddenly one of them asked if they could see her office, she blinked a few times then grinned, "Sure." The evidence officer grinned at her and said that she had the best one, she laughed, "Come on then!" They followed after her in an orderly fashion which surprised both teachers, she paused, "If you two want some coffee, there's a break room just past my office on the right." They nodded to her, "I can take care of these little ones for a bit." Rin and Sousuke had finished their work and promptly popped out of the office to watch her as they heard her voice getting nearer.

"Definitely different."

Rin looked at Sousuke, "What are you talking about?"

"Kiana...being with her is..different than the others."

"No shit, you've liked her since high school idiot."

He smirked, "I suppose I have."

"Just as she's liked you." He nodded, "Alright already, just go get a ring and marry the woman." Teal eyes riveted onto those red ones, there was a smirk on Rin's face, "You think I don't see how you look at her?" Sousuke was silent, "Always glancing at her in the club to make sure she's not doing anything with the others, always staring at _certain parts_ of her body; as if you can't believe that she's with you or still here. Your eyes _always_ betray what you're thinking and you're always thinking when she's going to leave you but she won't. I can tell Sousuke, she won't leave you like the others, she won't do what they've done to you and I _know_ you don't believe this which is why you keep a close eye on her." Still he didn't say anything, "If you're that possessive of her then marry her if it will placate your mind."

"What if she says no?"

"She won't."

"I don't want to think about this right now, it's too early."

"If you don't want to think about it then why did you ask if she would say no?" Sousuke continued to stare at his friend, he had trapped him, just as he's always been able to, and Rin couldn't help the broad grin on his face as he returned to the office they shared. Teal eyes glanced at the orange-haired woman as she ushered the children into her area. They sat on the floor, she took a seat in her chair, and began to explain to them what she does but made sure to leave out the gory details until one noticed her scars.

A little girl raised her hand, "Yes?"

"What happened to your arm?"

"I was burned when I was ten."

"Did it hurt?" Asked another, she nodded, "What is it?"

"Snake scales." Suddenly the whole group decided that this was far more interesting than any talk about police jobs, they scooted closer so they could see, and she obliged them. The only thing they kept asking was if they could touch them, she nodded, each one had their turn, and then the rest of the time was spent discussing what animals had scales. "So none of you are interested in a job at Iwatobi Station?" They looked at the ground guiltily, "Ah ha! So you all want to know how to become dragons!" The small office exuded children laughter, Sousuke took to watching from the hall while the two female teachers returned from their break, both of them tried to flirt with Sousuke but he kept his eyes on Kiana. One boy raised his hand just as Akira paused in the hall to watch, "Yes?"

"Is it hard to be a forensic?"

"Yes and no. If you're good at mathematics then you'll be good at forensics but it takes more than that to be a great one. You need to be observant, you need to see things that others won't be able to, to take your time, and be extra diligent in analyzing scenes." Kiana pulled a picture from the file on her home, "Take this picture for example. What do you see?" Some things were rattled off, she nodded happily, "Very good! You're all very smart!" She held up a finger, "But, this is where being observant comes in! Look here," she pointed to a spot, something very faint there, "See that?" They nodded, "That is a partial shoe print, it's very important evidence to catch the culprit who did this. And here," she pointed to the knife that was discarded, "that's the weapon they used so it could have fingerprints on it." They were impressed by her ability, the little boy that had asked was awestruck, "So the next time you see a picture in a book, doesn't matter what book, make a list of things you see then ask your friend to make a list, and compare. You two can then look at the picture together and see what you find that's not on your list."

The children agreed, she replaced the photograph, she got up to usher them out since the teachers were telling them that it was time to go, and the children pouted. "Don't pout! You'll see all the officers around town."

"What about you?"

"Me?" They nodded, "I'm here in the office but maybe if you want to see me again then I can come to your school." They cheered, she smiled at them, and followed them out, making sure they had everything, and then waved to them as they left. The officers were thanking her for her help, she shrugged, turned around, and headed to the break room but not without waving to her adopted father as he entered his office with a grin on his face. She entered and felt her body being pushed against the wall, she was going to retaliate until she recognized the husky voice near her ear. "Sousuke."

"Mmhm."

"What's wrong? This is dangerous!" came her whispers.

"I know," he replied quietly. He slipped his hand between her thighs to stroke her jeans roughly, she bit her lower lip, "I may not let you leave my house on our day off."

"Our?"

"Mmhm." He released her, she heard him pouring coffee, she turned around, leaned against the wall, and quickly slid into a nearby chair. Her seal cup was placed in front of her while he took a seat on the other side of the table. Teal eyes stared at that prominent line of freckles across the bridge of her nose, they flickered to her eyes where he saw the arousal in them, and she glanced at her coffee cup. "Still shy." She nodded, "Good." Blue orbs flickered to him before focusing on her cup to take a sip, "You're good with them."

"It helps to think like a child." He nodded, the silence was comfortable, and he noticed her mind was focusing on other things. "Something bad is going to happen."

"To who?"

"I don't know."

"How do you know?"

"Bad things always happen when she's around and now that she's attacked, no one is safe from her."

"She only wants you."

"I know."

She noticed that he reached over, took her hand, and squeezed it gently. Blue locked with teal, "We'll get through this."

Features softened towards him, she squeezed his hand in return, "I know Sousuke. I know." He nodded, they finished their coffee in silence, he took the cups, and they were about to part ways but he caught her in the threshold. Spun her around, planted his lips on hers, and she was shocked but returned it quickly. When they broke, he kissed her forehead, and left her to return to his office; she smiled at his departing figure. "No matter what, he'll always be there."


	10. A Snake's Nightmare

**Disclaimer:** I do not own _Free! Iwatobi Swim Club_ or any of the characters portrayed in it, they belong to Koji Oji, I simply own the character named Kiana Hagano, some others thrown in, and that is all. This was inspired by a a spur of the moment idea (don't judge me XD ) so I hope you all enjoy it as much as I do writing it. (LEMON kind of expect them every so often but I'll warn you.)

 **Chapter 10** \- A Snake's Nightmare

More items were picked up and placed into evidence bags, gloves were worn at all times as she went about cleaning the apartment for the return of her mother but she only did a little bit at a time every morning because she had to work and she still wanted to get as much evidence as possible. The bags were placed in her satchel, she exited the apartment, locked it up, and headed down the stairs to her scooter. She tossed her gloves in the trash, started it, and headed over to the station; her mind turned with thoughts of staying with Sousuke. After Rin and Koari left, he set up the spare room for her, she kept her clothes in there as well as other necessities she wanted out of sight, and he was very accommodating for her. A smile slid on her face as the Vespa was parked in the front of the building, she got off, grabbed her beach bag that held all of her important items, and headed inside. Gou had not arrived yet but she went straight to the break room to prep the coffee.

Delicate, freckled finger pushed the start button, she backed away, leaned against the wall, and stared at the coffee as it dripped slowly. Blue eyes held all the anger in the world at what had happened to her mother, even if she was adopted, and the rage would not be quelled until she caught the culprit. Kiana sighed, "Morning." She looked at Michiro and nodded, "I've been hearing about the case that you're working on. If you need anything then don't hesitate to ask, we're a team you and I."

She chuckled, "We're the only forensics here so it would be bad if we didn't help each other."

"Yep but there's a part-timer so we get our days off."

"True."

"How's it coming along anyway?"

"So far I'm still collecting as much as I can, anything that even looks like it could help, I've been collecting."

"Why are you so diligent on this one?" She stared at him, "I mean, you're always a hard worker and diligent but this case...it's different. It's as if you're out to get this person. Is it because your mother was involved?"

"It's because she's someone from my past and is hellbent on destroying my life now. I won't have her harm anyone else close to me."

"I see. Usually Chief won't put someone close to the case on it but I think this is an exception."

"It is. I know this woman, I can try to guess how she thinks, and she only has her sights set on me so if I can prevent this from happening to someone else then I'll do what I can. I'll put my heart and soul into finding the evidence."

"I see." They were silent for a bit, "Hagano." Blue rings looked into those black pools, "If you need anything and I mean _anything_ then don't hesitate to ask me. I know some guys who owe me favors so if you need something then you let me know."

Her face softened, "Thanks Ito, I appreciate it but I'm going to try and keep as many people involved to a minimum. Helps to narrow down the targets." He nodded and stated that the offer was on the table, "Thank you, I really do appreciate it though, I hope you understand."

"I do. Now go get to work. If you want, I can analyze them at night too, when I have some free time to see if something else comes up."

"Yeah, that'd be helpful, thank you."

"No problem. I still owe you one huge ass favor!" he called out to her as she left the break room and he heard her laugh echo down the hall. He grinned, "We'll get her Hagano, don't worry."

Kiana set up her station, removed the evidence she collected that morning then made her way towards the locker so she could get the prior box. Once it was in her hands, her feet took her back to her office but she paused outside of it, she felt the moisture at the corners of her eyes, something she thought she'd never feel. Tears threatened to spill down her cheeks because she feared for those she cared about, a few shaky breaths, and she entered her office. Sousuke stepped inside the station, he stared at her windows, the blinds were closed, and he knew something was wrong.

"She looked upset after getting her evidence," said Gou.

"Thanks."

"She's worried about things."

"I know."

"Has she spoken to you about any of it?"

"Like what?"

"Her feelings." He stared at her, she sighed, "She needs to talk to someone about what's going on, she called me last night." Sousuke continued to stare at her, "We didn't talk much but she seemed a bit distraught, go and talk to her...please. She'll feel better once she has a shoulder to cry on."

"How do you know this?"

"Kiana's never had friends before, she doesn't know how to portray her worries, and she probably doesn't want us to think that she's a burden to us so go and talk to her."

"Why are you telling me this?"

Gou smiled brightly, "Because that's what girlfriends are for! We tell our worries to each other and then we relay those worries to their boyfriends."

"Thanks Gou. I owe you."

"Don't worry about it Sousuke." He nodded and left it at that as he headed into the forensic office, he tapped on the door jamb, and noticed that she didn't look at him. Sousuke entered, closed the door, and locked it. He took a seat then rolled towards her, she kept her face hidden from him, he reached out, and spun her in the chair.

The look of shock on her face made him smirk but that soon disappeared as he noticed her watery eyes, "Come here." She obediently got up, straddled his lap, and he wrapped his arms around her for comfort. "What's wrong Kiana?" He felt her reciprocate the embrace, he tightened it just slightly as her voice was barely above a whisper, meant only for him to hear.

"I'm worried I won't be able to find anything to link her. I'm worried that someone else might get hurt and I won't be there to help them."

"It's okay, I'm here now, we'll find something." Kiana buried her face into the crook of his neck and let her tears flow, making sure to keep them silent. Sousuke wasn't sure how to deal with the situation so he just kept quiet, usually the tears he dealt with were simple fake ones because he wouldn't buy them something nice but emotional waterworks were something he wasn't accustomed to. Suddenly his strong Selkie felt like the shy Freckles he met all those years ago, the shy easily flustered Freckles that his heart had initially increased in pace for. When he felt her calm down, he whispered, "No one else is going to get hurt."

She sniffled, "Dad's looking into another apartment, we're not going back to that one because it's too dangerous." He kept silent, "But.." she sniffled again, he watched as she leaned back, keeping her face averted from his, "I'm worried that she'll do something to you. Something that I can't help with." Tears threatened to spill down her face again so he placed one palm on her lower back, the other cupped her cheek. Pink colored blue eyes stared into those teal depths, she felt safe there, as if she was back in high school, her safety net was right there, and she was glad to have been caught by it. Kiana just stared into those lagoons, she couldn't break away, she didn't have the strength, and Sousuke leaned closer to her, pressing his palm on her back more firmly, his thumb rubbed the small spot just underneath her eye. "Sou-"

Lips met hers causing her to be cut off, the gesture was unexpected that her mind blanked, Sousuke ran his tongue across her lower lip but she still couldn't think. Teeth nipped it, drew her out of the trance, eyes fluttered closed, and she parted her lips for him. The wet muscle wove its way into her mouth, delicately dancing against hers, he pushed her closer to him, her fingers found their way into his short hair, and gripped small locks of it. He didn't mind, he was only focused on making her understand what it was that he wanted to convey without the use of words. After several minutes, they broke for air, he was breathing lightly, hers was heavy, those lagoons were dark with lust but he ignored it. Her confusion made him smirk as he moved his hands to her back, he brought her in for a tighter embrace than before, and she reciprocated instantly.

" _No one_ is going to take you away from me and vice versa. Don't worry Kiana, whatever happens now, we'll deal with it together," his voice was low. "You're not alone anymore." Her eyes went wide at the words that she had known for awhile now but didn't believe. Lids closed, she sighed, and gave a slight nod of acknowledgement, "Good." Kiana leaned back but he kept his hands where they were, they stared at one another, and he whispered, "You can talk to me, I'll listen." She gave a small smile, nodded, and he kissed her cheek. "Good, you can still stay at my place if you want..."

"I'd like that." Kiana got up, Sousuke followed suit, he patted her head, and she chuckled while cleaning up her face a little with the back of her sleeves. "Thank you Sousuke." He nodded with a soft expression, "I'll get to work on the evidence from this morning and see what I come up with then I'll bring it to you."

"Sure Freckles." She smiled warmly at him, he left the office, and she pulled on gloves to get started on the day. However he paused as he saw his Chief enter his office, Sousuke followed after him, he knocked on the door, and Akira told him to enter. "Sir do you have a minute?"

"Yeah, I've got some time. What is it Yamazaki?" Akira noticed that he closed the door which made a single dark eyebrow raise in question at his subordinate. "Kiana alright?"

"Yes sir. I spoke to her this morning and she seemed distraught about the case," he nodded, "but she's better now."

"That's a relief, I've never seen her strong exterior break before so it's good that you were there." Sousuke nodded, "You couldn't have wanted to tell me that in private so what is it?"

"She told me that you're looking into other apartments." He nodded, "If it's alright with you, sir, then I'd prefer if she stayed with me for the time being...possibly longer."

Akira blinked a few times, digesting the words, and Sousuke never strayed his eyes from his superior, "You've always been direct with your questions which is one of the reasons why I like you." A small smile appeared on the older man's face, it confused the detective but he kept quiet as his Chief replied, "It'll probably be better for her anyway, the less people she's around, then the less they're likely to get involved with this. She's a grown woman, why are you asking me for permission?"

"Courtesy since you are her father."

"Aoi was right about you." Sousuke stared at him, "She said you were a good man and would protect our little Selkie. Even when she was in high school, Kiana only talked good things about you."

"She spoke about me?"

"Oh yes, quite a lot in fact."

"She never mentioned it."

"She won't, she's that kind of person, she liked you a lot. Said that you were her most important person outside of her family and the only one that was able to put a crack in her shell." There was surprise evident on his face even if Akira couldn't see it so he grinned, "Kiana's the type of person to protect people and things she holds dear to her. She won't back down from this and will probably take the case files home with her to look over." Sousuke kept silent and Akira couldn't help it when his grin broadened, "Perhaps you should tell her what you told me about her staying with you, 'possibly longer.'" Still the taller male was silent, "Anything else Detective?"

"No sir."

"Run along then, we've work to do!"

"Of course sir." Sousuke headed for the door, his hand grabbed the knob, and Akira told him to wait, he glanced over his shoulder at him, "Sir?"

"Spring break is coming, expect her to strike then." He stared at him, "I'm counting on _you_ Yamazaki to keep my little girl safe and, should something happen to her, you had better be the first one on overtime trying to solve it."

"If something happens to her, I'll be the first to do double time." Akira nodded, Sousuke left the office, closed the door, and headed for his own just as Rin met him at the hall. He asked him what was going on, "I had to ask Chief something that's all."

"Riiiight."

"Shut up Rin." He snickered as they began to go through cases that were completed, so focused that Rin only realized it was midday when the alarm on Sousuke's phone chimed, and that made the magenta haired male smirk. "Just shut up." Those red eyes gleamed with mischief as the two coffee mugs were removed from his swimming bag, he headed into the break room, prepared them, then knocked on the threshold of the office. "Kiana?" She looked up at him, nodded, moved everything aside, tossed her gloves, and watched as he took a seat; cups placed on the far end of the counter. "How's it going so far?"

She sighed, "So far I've got bits and pieces of things, it's taking some time to analyze but I'm hopeful. I've been looking over the photographs more carefully and it seems that the more I look at them the more I'm beginning to think that she had an accomplice."

"That can make it easier or more difficult."

"I know."

"As soon as you know something, Rin and I can look into it."

"I know."

"I spoke to your Dad this morning." She sipped her coffee, looked up at him, and waited for an answer, "He said it's alright for you to stay with me." Kiana smiled warmly, he toyed with the loose strands of her hair, "You are more than welcome to stay a lot longer if you'd like."

At this her blue eyes sparkled, "How long is longer?"

"However long you want."

Kiana felt an idea pop into her head, she leaned into his hand when he cupped her cheek, and the motion made his heart hammer in his chest. "Are you asking me to move in with you Sousuke?" She took it a step further by nuzzling his hand then placing a kiss on the underside of his wrist. The butterfly swimmer was stunned into silence, others would have thought he didn't want it but she knew better, she could read him, and her blue eyes looked into his teal irises. "Are you Sousuke?" It was silent for a few more minutes, she chuckled, "I'm teasing." She was about to turn back to her coffee until he moved his hand to the back of her neck, gripped it then brought her towards him, and she felt him press his lips to hers. He didn't even ask permission, he forced his tongue into her mouth, toyed with hers, then released her.

"Careful what you say Freckles." She nodded, flustered, "Good."

"But, are you?"

"Take it however you want." She smiled, sipped her coffee, he drank his as well, and the silence was always comfortable with her. Suddenly he sighed, Kiana glanced at him, "Why couldn't I have just asked you out in high school?" The woman chuckled, "Rin knew I left to see someone, he thought it was a girl but he wasn't curious enough to follow me."

"That's a shame."

"Yes it is." More silence, "How much longer until you can get the rest of your things from the apartment?"

"Well if you come with me after the swim club then just today and I'll still stop by in the morning to look for more evidence."

"I'm off tomorrow."

"Me too."

"We'll spend all night there if we have to." She looked at him, smiled gratefully, and he kissed her forehead, "Don't worry. I'll always be there for you." Kiana nodded, "So long as you understand."

"I do Sousuke, I really do. But do you understand it the same way?"

A soft smile, "I have an idea." She smiled at him as they finished their coffee, he grabbed them, placed a kiss on her forehead, and left the forensic office to return to his own. Kiana's smile never faltered as she persevered through the rest of the day and sighed when she had to pack up all the evidence once more. She carried the box through the hall to the other end where the officer was waiting for her, he nodded to her, and they spoke briefly about it.

"You'll find what you need, no worries Hagano."

"I hope so."

"Hey," she looked at him and he smiled, "I've been here a long time, didn't want to retire but I couldn't continue out in the field so here I am in the evidence box." She chuckled, "I've seen many forensics and officers come and go through here and you're the best one because you're persistent. You won't submit anything to the detectives or officers unless you are _absolutely_ certain that you have what you need to find the culprit and not some innocent person." She stayed silent while he continued to smile, "That's what makes you the best. You are here to help Iwatobi be a better place, you're here to help the townspeople, you're here to put the right people behind bars, and that alone is the reason why you'll find what you need for this."

"Thank you."

"I'm here to soothe your worry although, I think, there's _someone else_ that is better suited." He winked at her, she stared, and burst into laughter. He grinned, "Go on! Go swim and get that evidence!"

"I will, thank you again."

"You are most welcome." She took a few more steps, "Oh I have a question." She looked at him, "Will you leave him?"

Kiana smiled gently, shook her head, "Not in a million years."

"If he breaks up with you?"

"I'll deal with it if the time comes." He grinned brightly, nodded, and they parted ways; she grabbed her beach bag and felt extra weight on her back. "Gou!" She laughed, "Do you want to ride with me?"

"Of course!" She nodded, they grabbed their things, and headed out of the station with Rin and Sousuke not far behind. "Thank you Kiana." She looked at her friend, "For what you told me." She gave a few nods, Gou nudged her, and she chuckled, "I mean it! It's like he worships my feet or something!"

"He couldn't have liked it that much! Could he?"

"He did! He asked me if you'd like to share more." When they exited the station, Kiana laughed, and Gou grinned, "Will you?"

"If you're sharing with my sister then share with Koari too." The two women paused by her Vespa, they looked at Rin, a faint blush on his cheeks as he averted his eyes from her, and Kiana leaned over to Gou, whispered about the pictures that she and Koari had talked about. Gou agreed to it as well and Rin turned back to them, "Well?"

Kiana grinned, it made her eyes twinkle, "Sure! I don't mind sharing that kind of information with my girl friends." Sousuke stared at her, when their eyes met, she averted hers immediately which made Gou and Rin laugh; she coughed. "Umm..we should get going, the others are waiting." The Matsuoka sister grinned, they both climbed on, and Kiana started the scooter.

As they were changing in the locker rooms, Koari gasped, "What's that on your shoulder?!" Gou examined the morning bite mark from a few days ago, "What happened?"

"Sousuke bit me in the morning a few days ago because I kissed him while he was still asleep or, apparently, half-asleep."

"It hasn't healed?"

"It takes longer for me to heal from things like that than other people." She shrugged, "I'm used to it." The other two women chuckled, "Although I thought whale sharks didn't have teeth." This was said as they exited the locker room which caused both women to burst into uncontrollable laughter. Her things were placed on the bench and Koari began to show them how to do new warm up stretches, "These are a bit sexual in nature."

She laughed, "Your mind has forever been altered!"

"I know."

Gou added, "We wouldn't have it any other way." Kiana smiled at her two friends, there was chuckling from the women, once they finished their stretches, the males exited the locker room, and Kiana took her customary seat on the diving block. When Sousuke sat down, her fingers immediately went to work, loosening up those muscles that were knotted throughout the day, and she began to wonder if there was something out there that could help; massage oil perhaps. Although that route made her face turn deep red, a single teal eye looked at her but her eyes were focused on his shoulder, and she didn't see him watching her.

"Something lewd on your mind?" Eyes snapped to those lagoons, "You're beet red."

She coughed, "Nothing."

"Mhm." It was left at that, once she finished, she mounted the diving block, pulled up her goggles, and let her body relax. Her dive was gentle, no force behind it, and Sousuke knew that she was thinking about something so he let her perform the Front Crawl with leisure. He simply sat there, watching her flip from side to side, listening to her move through the water, and he couldn't help the thoughts that trailed through his mind. _What is she thinking about? Will she be more at ease if she stays with me? I want to know everything, what she likes, what she hates, what her favorite perfume is, what her favorite food is...why am I thinking about these things?_ Despite the thoughts running through his mind, he never showed any of it on his visage, always stoic, and a single thought coiled its way into his mind; it planted itself there. _I don't want to lose her, not to another man and not to that Snake._ He asked himself why he was so possessive and it was answered immediately, _Because she's mine._

Kiana placed her hands on the edge of the pool, her breathing came out in quiet gasps as she tried to catch her breath, one hand pulled the goggles down, and her mind was still running rampant with incoherent thoughts. A body slid into the water, she ignored it, a hand was on top of her head, she felt the heat radiating from the palm even through her swim cap, and hair. Quickly she glanced to the side, teal eyes stared at her, she gave a small smile that reached her eyes, still he kept his hand there. Eventually he patted the top of her head, she stared at him, and watched as he pulled himself out of the water. He was standing in front of her, held out his left hand, and helped her out the pool. She stood there with her hand in his, staring up at him, he continued to look down at her, a gentle squeeze from him, and the spectators were all curious as to what was going on between the silent exchange.

Lips curled into a smile, eyes happily closed, she nodded, when they opened again, Kiana could see the barest hint of a smirk on his lips. Sousuke relinquished his hand on hers, mounted the block, and dove in while she sauntered back to the bench for a reprieve.

"What was that?" asked Gou.

"Hm?"

"You two didn't say anything and yet you knew something!"

She grinned, "I can read Sousuke so he doesn't need to potray any emotion."

"But HOW?!" The half-Irish woman laughed while Koari took a seat on her other side, "Okay, fine. Then give us some advice!" Kiana chuckled, the two women leaned over, and she began to tell them of other things they could do behind closed doors. Koari's face still turned red as did Gou's but Kiana only shrugged at them; little did she know that Sousuke was watching her. She put on a happy face but he knew that she was worried about the vile woman who had attacked her mother.

Farewells were said to their friends, Kiana hopped on her Vespa, Sousuke in his car, and he followed her through the streets to the apartment complex. Once there, he watched as she marched up the stairs, he wasn't far behind her with an empty bag, and watched as the door was pushed open. "I brought your overnight bag. We can get the rest of your clothes and other necessities after we're finished."

"Thank you Sousuke." He nodded, watched as she pulled on gloves, and began to systematically clean up the apartment as well as take anything that could lead to evidence. He leaned against the closed door so that he wouldn't bother her as she did her job, the way she moved around, how her eyes flitted from one item to another, or stayed on something longer if there was merit, fascinated him. It was the same with his shoulder, she always analyzed it, always watched his expression to make sure she wasn't hurting him only this was focused on finding something that could link Madame Snake, something the vile woman had possibly overlooked.

Very little items were placed in bags, mainly anything that seemed to be too far from its proper place, once that was finished, she sighed, removed her gloves, and tossed them in the bin. "Finished?"

She gave the area one last sweep, "Yeah...I think so. I've dusted everything before and only taken things that had prints on them, same as this time. Except there are a few items that have prints on them that shouldn't."

"Like what?"

She looked up at him, "Mom would always polish her crystal wine glasses with special gloves and cloth, they were never used but she always polished them just like those glass animal paper weights, and they were out of place. Not in their proper spot so I dusted them and found some prints." Others would have suggested her father but Sousuke knew that Chief Yamamoto would never disrupt his wife's collection for fear of her panic attacks due to her phobia. "I'm hoping it's a set of prints that we can use."

"What if it's not in our database?"

Ocean pools twinkled, "That's where my Dad's friends come into play." Sousuke smirked, "Well I'll clean up now then we can pack my belongings." He nodded and still waited by the door while she wiped everything down with lemon scented cleaner, the floors became spotless, and it was as if nothing had ever happened save for the blood stain on the floor from her mother's open wound. "I can't do anything about that. Dad will have to hire someone." Sousuke nodded, watched as she texted him, and motioned for him to follow her.

"Your mother said I was off probation but it seems this is only the second time I've been here and the last." Kiana chuckled, he liked it when she chuckled, and he watched as they entered her room. It was neat, bare of any decorations, and painted a color he was all too familiar with. "Teal?"

He stole a glance at her to see that her face was blushing, "Like your eyes." He blinked a few times still not able to comprehend the fact that she had painted her room the same color as his eyes as a reminder of her time with him. Sousuke watched as she took the empty bag from him then began to removed her clothes, he realized it wasn't much, but he simply gazed as she packed her things. He even noticed she tossed in all of her toiletries as well, making sure that the entire room was devoid of her presence except the bed.

Suddenly an idea sparked in his mind, he smirked, sauntered up behind her, and wrapped his arms around her waist. She paused, was about to say something but he nudged her collar aside with his nose, and lightly sank his teeth into her flesh. Kiana gasped, the strap of the bag fell from her weak grasp, and Sousuke muttered hotly, "Why not have some fun in your bed? It'll be the last time you lay on it." Kiana's mind blanked again, she felt his hands slide down her sides, she shivered in response, and he hummed his approval, "Hmm, I like the way you squirm." Suddenly those hands slipped under her shirt to cup her breasts through the fabric of her bra, she gasped, and he licked the outer edge of her ear. A moan escaped her lips as she leaned back into him, slowly gyrating her hips against him. He groaned and realized that she had removed herself from his grasp, he stared at her with confusion.

"It's still my parent's home." He sighed in defeat, she wrapped her arms around his waist, teal eyes looked at her, "But when we get to _your_ house, I'll be relentless." He embraced her tightly while crashing his lips against hers in heated passion, just the thought of her being relentless made his blood run hot.

"You better keep your promise."

"I always keep my promises." He nodded, "Will you be okay?" Another nod, "We can go now, I have everything." Kiana slung the bag over her shoulder, the couple headed out of her bedroom, and through the apartment once more. One last longing look, she picked up her beach bag that held all of her important items for work, and then locked up the apartment. "I'll give the key to my Dad tomorrow." Sousuke nodded, they headed down the stairs, parted at their respective vehicles except her bags were placed in his trunk, and the Detective followed after Kiana towards his home.

Inside was a different story, the moment that the two bags had been placed on the floor, the door shut, and locked; Kiana swiftly removed her shoes. Sousuke had just stepped out of his when he was pushed against the door, he stared down at his Selkie, blue irises laced with hunger, and she slipped her hands beneath his shirt. Nails ran lightly up his muscled stomach, he groaned at the contact, and leaned down so that she could remove his shirt, it was tossed on the floor, and he grabbed her roughly. "I thought you didn't like any messes?" he whispered.

"I don't but this is different. I'll clean it up later." His masculine chuckle reverberated through her smaller frame, and he picked her up so that he cupped her buttocks. Legs wrapped around his waist, "Are you alright for this?" He nodded, without a moments hesitation they locked lips together, slanting over one another multiple times before breaking for air; all the while she didn't realize he had carried her through the house to his bedroom. Her back hit the mattress, breathing irratic, large hands slipped under her shirt to cup those breasts he so loved, and she gasped at his touch. One hand traced the scales along her side, it made her shiver, and he promptly began to unbutton the shirt that shrouded her skin from him; it was tossed aside somewhere.

Kiana watched as he leaned back to remove his pants, she did the same, kicked off her jeans, his were pushed down to the ground, he stepped out of them, and he was surprised at what she did. Kiana roamed her eyes over his body for the first time, taking in all she could see, the first time they coupled, the lust was too great but now, she wanted to admire him. Her legs involuntarily rubbed together, he smirked, "Like what you see Selkie?"

She gave a muffled moan while he leaned over, his weight pressing her into the mattress, one hand slipped behind her back, unclasped her bra, and she slipped out of it; the cloth tossed elsewhere. She felt his bare chest against hers, just the feeling of him being there made her exponentially happy, the thought that he would never leave, and she wrapped her arms around his neck. Teeth grazed his ear, he groaned at the contact, her peaks rubbing against his chest as she teased her clothed apex over his boxers. He growled while pushing her further into the mattress, she gasped, and saw that he pinned both of her hands above her head with one of his. The idea of being bound by him made her breath quicken, he smirked, lowered himself to her rosebud, and rubbed the tip of his nose on it. After a few seconds he engulfed it with his warm mouth, she felt his tongue draw circles around it, making it stiffen, and she squirmed underneath his touch. A low chuckle resounded from him as he switched to the other one, her breath came out in gasps, and she knew her panties were done for. Sousuke's free hand trailed down her side, it made her shiver, he hooked a finger around her panties, and drew them down past her knees. His foot took care of the rest, fingers trailed inside her thigh, caressing random spots, and he gently prodded her opening with a single finger.

"Sousuke!"

He hummed approval as he moved his lips up to her collarbone, finally connecting with her lips, all the while he inserted a finger inside followed by a second, and he looked into her blue irises. "You drive me crazy." Those blue orbs flickered down as she bit her lower lip before flicking back up to meet his, "Things like that will get you punished Selkie." Kiana was going to play coy with him but she didn't have a chance as he removed his fingers, pushed his boxers down, and shoved himself inside. Her body quivered which forced her eyes to close as she felt herself encapsulate him, just the sheer contact made her almost climax, and she risked opening them again. "You are _mine_." As if to prove his point he attacked her shoulder, wanting to mark it, to brand it, to show others that she was his.

He leaned back slightly to look at her, curly orange hair frazzled from being rubbed all over the cotton comforter, eyes half-lidded, lips plump from the rough kissing, and he waited for her to catch some of her breath. "If I'm yours then you're mine. I'll fight whomever to prove my point."

"Fight with what?" He hadn't realized but their voices were hushed, as if they didn't want others to hear them even though there was no one else in the house.

She smirked, "My satchel." He chuckled darkly while pulling out and ramming back into her, she moaned in pleasure, her brow knit, and those eyes squeezed shut. Her chest heaved with effort, "Sousuke!"

"Hmm, I really like it when you scream." To prove his point he pulled out and slammed back in once more which caused her voice to get louder. Sousuke held her close to him as kept a strong, rhythmic motion, and she could do nothing but feel him inside. She felt him everywhere, smelled his masculine musky scent, heard his grunts and groans, felt his lips all over her body, and she felt herself tighten up with her climax. Squeezing him so hard that he nearly orgasmed as well but he held out until she relaxed a little bit before continuing his rough pace. After a few moments, he felt his orgasm tear through him, he panted with the effort, sweat rolled down his body and hers, he nestled himself next to her, and rolled so that she was on top. He was gasping for breath but not as much as Kiana, she couldn't speak, and her legs trembled. He smirked at her, "You need more practice."

She chuckled, "I thought this _was_ practice just of a different kind." Teal eyes stared at her, he chuckled, and she flushed at the sound of it. "Even after all this, I still can't get over how your chuckle makes my insides flip."

He squeezed her tighter to him, "Good."

"Why is that your response to everything I say?"

"It's simple." Kiana laughed, "Laugh more often."

"If I'm around you then I probably will."

"Good." She laughed again, he squeezed her, she gave a low snicker, nuzzled him, and soon drifted off from the ordeal of cleaning, examining, packing, rough coupling, and just the thought of staying with Sousuke made her immeasurably happy. He listened to her drift off, a light kiss on her head, "I'll protect you."

-::::::-

Morning approached, Kiana's eyes fluttered open, she found that she was being clamped by two strong arms, she looked down at them, and smiled. She tried to get out of his grasp without waking him up, she tried to separate his arms, and failed. She tried to wiggle her way towards the end of the bed, hoping to slip out of his grasp, and failed. Kiana tried to pull herself out of his grasp and failed again. She huffed, tried to move so that she could face him since she rolled around during the night so that her back was against his chest when she awoke, and failed. "Sousuke," she whispered. Nothing, his deep even breaths letting her know that he wasn't awake. "Sousuke," she said a bit louder. Still no response, she huffed, "Sousuke," she stated in her normal tone. "Sousuke," she said even louder and the same. Kiana huffed, "SOUSUKE!" He stirred mildly, cracked one eye open at her, and waited for her to say something. "I need to shower and use the bathroom."

He pulled her closer to him, inhaled her perfume and sweat mixed scent, then tightened his grip on her, "You smell nice now."

She flushed, "I still need to use the bathroom."

"Come right back." She gave a nod, he relinquished his arms on her, half-lidded eyes watched as she picked up her shirt from the floor, put it on quickly then headed out of the bedroom towards the bathroom. He continued to watch the door, when she returned she was wearing his discarded t-shirt from the living room. Kiana slipped in next to him however she found herself with Sousuke on top of her, and she stared up at him. His voice low with that husky tone that made her lower region turn wet, "That shirt looks good on you." Hands slipped underneath her shirt, she moaned at his hot touch, he caressed her, leaned down, and began to kiss her roughly. He shoved himself inside, Kiana moaned in response, and it only urged him forward.

After some time, he collapsed next to her to catch his breath, and she looked over at him trying to catch hers as well; teal eyes watching her. She smiled, leaned over, and kissed him on the forehead while still trying to catch her breath. "Can you handle my demands?"

She sat up, pulled his shirt back on, and stated with a smile, "I'll handle you any time Sousuke but right now I'm going to make breakfast, assuming you have any food in your fridge." A deep chuckle resounded from him, she blushed at it, and he only smirked while pulling the blankets off so he could take a shower. They parted outside the bedroom, he went for the shower, and she went for the kitchen while braiding her hair; once there she immediately opened up the refrigerator. Blue eyes scanned quickly at the contents, eggs, cheese, leek, sliced turkey, and she sighed. "Alright, I'll make do with this!" She began to prep everything while first starting some rice so that they could have something to eat it with. "I know he has a strict diet but a little bit of rice won't hurt." Kiana plucked her apron from a hook, tied it loosely around her waist, and wrapped a bandanna on her head.

Sousuke emerged from the bathroom, his hair spiking up slightly, he wore gray sweatpants, and went shirtless as he made his way to the kitchen. He leaned against the wall to watch her, a small smirk present on his face as she flitted about wearing nothing but his t-shirt that many sizes too big for her and an apron. The scents wafting around made his stomach growl, he sighed, took a seat at the table, and watched her from a comfortable position. His mind turned with how things would be from now on, if she would like to stay with him in his house or if she wanted to return to her parents once Madame Snake was caught. He found that he didn't like the idea of her leaving the house, it would be too quiet without her, and Sousuke realized that he truly enjoyed her company.

The meal was finished, set on plates, and placed on the table followed by some coffee filled cups. There was no cream or sugar to be found so she had to make do with it being black. Kiana sat next to him, he took a bite, and nodded. She watched him, "That doesn't tell me anything."

"You can understand me, figure it out." Blue irises blinked many times before she started laughing, he returned to eating while she started hers, and a smirk was hid behind every mouthful of food. Once it was finished, he watched as she took the plates, cleaned them, set them aside to dry, and returned to sitting next to him. "You know that you don't have to stay in the guest bedroom. You can stay with me."

"You're willing to share that comfy bed of yours?"

"Only if you're willing to let me see those curls bounce." Her face turned vermilion, he chuckled, and noticed that she smiled happily. Nodded her response, "Now you'll have to transfer all of your things again."

"Not really, it'll be quick. Do you use the closet?" He shook his head, "Okay, I'll claim that as mine then." A nod in affirmation, "I'll do it soon so that it gets done and then we can go out and buy some food since you seem to forget to buy it." A small smirk appeared on his face as he drank from the cup, when he finished, he realized that it was his whale shark mug, and teal eyes looked down at her. She looked up, a happy smile on her face that made her eyes twinkle like moonlight reflecting on the ocean, and Sousuke leaned over to kiss her. She reciprocated the affection, when they parted, she finished her coffee, he finished his, and watched as she took the cups to clean them. Set aside with the dishes to air dry, she immediately went to move all of her things to his room, and he followed her.

"You're rather comfortable wearing nothing but a tee shirt."

"Because you're the only one here, it's your house, and you're here with me. I told you before that you make me feel safe. You're my safety net, ever since high school."

"Safety net?"

She nodded as she moved between the rooms, "Yes. Whenever I was feeling down from a bad day, you were there to cheer me up, and I was always caught by your eyes. _You_ made me happy Sousuke, even back then because I considered you my only friend." She thought for a moment before chuckling, "You _were_ my only friend." Kiana finished the transfer, "I'm going to shower." He nodded, when she passed by him, he gently grabbed her arm, and those sapphires gazed up at him.

Sousuke pulled her into a tight embrace, she returned the gesture, and he whispered, "I'll always be here for you, don't ever forget that." He felt her smile against his chest, when they relinquished, she nodded with sparkling eyes, and watched as she disappeared to grab some clothes. Her own undergarments were placed in an empty drawer along with her socks so it was easy work for her to grab what she needed, and head to the shower. "I'll get dressed too."

"Okay!" she called from the closed door. Kiana made sure that her toiletries were in a place that he wouldn't have to come across them too often, if ever. She had her beauty secrets which made her chuckle as she pulled off his shirt, held it to her face, inhaled his scent, and sighed happily. Kiana had collected the forgotten clothes earlier in the morning, so this shirt was added to the hamper. The water turned on, she waited one minute then stepped into it while unbraiding her hair, and began to the tedious task of washing it.

Kiana exited the bathroom fully clothed, Sousuke was sitting on the couch, he heard the door open, and glanced towards the hall to see Kiana entered the area, and he only stared. Reddish-orange curls hung in thin clumps, she sat down across from him, pulled her hair over one shoulder, and separated it into three sections. Teal eyes watched with interest as she braided her hair, it was fascinating to him how she did it so quickly, the end was tied off, and she tossed it behind her. Kiana noticed that he was staring, "What?"

"I've never seen you do that."

"That's because you're never around when I do it." He chuckled, she smiled, "Besides, it'll take some time for it to dry completely but I hate using any heat source on it."

"Because of what happened at Koari's party?" She nodded, "So you don't like it extra fluffy?"

"I don't mind it, what I dislike is it causes it to be unmanageable." He nodded in understanding, "Ready for the day?"

"Hm?"

"We're going to do some food shopping!"

"If I don't want to go?"

"Then we stay here and starve."

"I have some sustenance that I could give you." Her face turned red, he smirked, "You catch on quickly." Sousuke was silent for a bit, "I like that." Kiana's face turned even more red, another chuckle, "Alright. I'll finish getting ready." He got up, watched as she clapped her hands together lightly like a child, and he paused to stand near her. "Be ready when we return." He walked away, she smiled happily, and got up to check her field back to make sure it had everything she would need. Once everything was set, she headed over to Ares, and placed her knees on the floor.

"Hello Ares. We're going out for a while but we'll be back. You don't have to worry anymore, you're not alone, I'm here, and Sousuke's here. We're both here for you." He was standing on the other side of the room, watching her, and she smiled as the snake lifted his head before recoiling his body on the hot rock. "I'm glad you understand, okay. No one's going to hurt you here, you're safe, and in a few more days you'll be fed again. Sleep well Ares, tonight I'll give you another bath, and you can hang out with us." She got up, placed the sheet over the cage, and turned around to see Sousuke there. "Hm?"

"You're good with him."

"He knows me." A single nod, they slipped their shoes on, he grabbed his keys, and they headed out into the late morning. Sousuke took directions from Kiana to arrive at the local market that she always bought her food from, he got out, as did she, and he locked the car. He followed behind her, watched as she bought canvas bags from one stand then headed into the produce section, and paused. She felt fingers entwine around her own, she glanced down to see that Sousuke had done it, her eyes trailed up, and he averted them from her but Kiana smiled. "Do you like any fruit?" He shook his head, "I kind of know your diet but it would help if you told me." Sousuke told her what his diet was and she nodded, "I can work with that but I'm going to omit anything fried. I know you like it but it's not healthy for you so I'll make it once a week."

He looked down at her, "Are you trying to punish me?"

"No, just keeping you _extra_ healthy." She winked at him while he averted his eyes, and they wandered around the market. Kiana wanted to show him everything about the place, why she liked it so much, and to show how friendly all of the vendors were. Teal eyes watched how she interacted with everyone, almost as if she never had a shell in the first place but he knew that she had been coming here since she was a child with her mother, and the thought of her mother brought him to Ares which brought him to Madame Snake.

The tall male removed his cellular phone from his pocket, he tagged Rin and Chief, and typed out a text message for the both of them. It was short and to the point, he sent it, and replaced the phone in his pocket. Souske watched as she purchased a copious amount of rice, he raised an eyebrow at her when she looked at him, and her face blushed lightly as she turned away, muttering something about liking rice. He leaned down to whisper, "I remember you said the same thing at the party. I don't mind, I like rice too, _especially_ when it keeps that softness on you that I so enjoy squeezing." Her face flushed many different shades of red, she would have hit him but it would have been inappropriate so she thought of something far more devilish.

"You wait until we get home." It was a flat statement but he saw the glint in her eye and he knew that she had something up her sleeve. As they moved around the vendors, he took some of the bags in his left arm, one glare from her, and he knew better than to use his right arm. She had already bought an assortment of vegetables ranging from carrots, potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, lotus root, leek, cabbage, Chinese cabbage, radishes, turnips, taro root, ginger, onion, tomato, cucumber, mushrooms, seaweed, and mustard spinach. When they were approaching the fish section, he watched as she purchased insulated bags, and began the same thing over again. Showing him which places she liked the most and she even waved to some of the vendors as they called out to her. He watched as she purhcased squid, mackerel, sea bream, sea bass, amberjack, skipjack, trout, and eel but very little cod. Sousuke was extremely curious as to what was going through her mind at the moment as she bought all of these items, she even bought some shrimp, and scallops.

The bags were placed on her shoulders, she held some in her hands, and she thought for a moment; her mind turning with what else she could need. As only one item came up, she looked over her shoulder at Sousuke, and smiled. He thought he had gotten used to her smiles but they still never failed to make him stop breathing for a moment, she turned around, and he followed after her. They returned to the car, he opened the trunk, the bags were set inside, he watched as she arranged them in a certain manner before looking it over once more, and decided that it was fine. "One more place to go and then we'll be done." He nodded, they climbed in, and he took the directions once more; he paused as they arrived at a wholesale market.

"Why are we here?"

"For three items, stay here." She got out, he waited, soon enough a text was received that told him to open the trunk, so he did, and he watched as she came out with three boxes. One was Kirin Lager, which he didn't mind since he liked it as well, the other was clearly eggs, but the third one was unmarked. It made him curious, she placed them in the trunk, closed it, and climbed in. "Okay. I'm done."

"Are you sure?" She nodded with a smile, "Alright." She gave him directions on how to return to his house, "How do you know that I don't know my own way back?"

"You couldn't find the hotel." He chuckled, she flushed, " _Now_ there's food in the house that I can work with." Another chuckle, as he pulled into the parking spot, he shut it off, and they both got out. Of course the neighbors were out walking around, tending their gardens, their flowers, their plants, and many of them were happy to see Sousuke with Kiana. Ayato was sitting on his porch with a grin, "Good afternoon Grandpa!"

"Kiana! What a lovely surprise to see you here!" She smiled at him, "Oh? Did you go food shopping?!"

"We did." The elderly man watched as Souske only used his left arm for the heavier items while his right carried the lighter ones. Kiana placed many bags on her shoulders while grabbing some with her hands and Ayato asked her what she had procured. "Many things of the sea and land." He guffawed laughter as they headed inside to place their items down on the kitchen floor, when they returned, Sousuke took the remaining bags, and watched as she took the three boxes. He waved to them, she placed down the boxes, popped outside, and returned that wave as the butterfly swimmer closed the trunk.

"You take excellent care of our Sousuke!"

"She does so stop saying that," replied the stoic detective. Kiana looked up at him, he kissed her forehead before heading inside, and her face blushed which made Ayato grin as well as many of the others.

"Bye now Kiana!"

"Bye Grandpa!" As they returned inside, he watched as she put everything away in its place, leaving some things in the refrigerator for dinner preparation, and then came the mysterious unopened box. He watched as the freezer was opened, "I'm glad you have this kind of fridge." It was the long stainless steel ones that had two elongated doors next to one another rather than stacked on top of one another.

"Why?"

"It fits my bad habit."

"You have a bad habit?" She nodded, "What could that be little Selkie?" She sighed, placed the unmarked box on the table, and opened it. Teal eyes stared at the contents, it was packed with nothing but Snickers bars. "So, Selkies like to eat chocolate?"

"No..just me." She coughed while taking it to the freezer, he watched as she placed them in the bottom drawer, they were stacked neatly, and fit perfectly in it; every last one of them. He was going to ask about them but she replied, "When I was burned and in the hospital recovering, one of the nurses gave me a Snickers bar. It was actually the first time I'd ever had one and I liked it a lot; it gave me hope that things will get better. Dad visited me, he hid the wrapper for me, and told me that he was going to adopt me. After that Mom came to visit, she told me that they were her favorite too, and it just happened like that. Perhaps it's nostalgia since this little chocolate bar was the first thing that gave me hope but..." Her face softened as she trailed off, Sousuke was quiet, and she didn't continue.

"Pack some with you."

"Huh?"

"Pack some, we're going to see your mother." Kiana stared up at him as got up from the table, she smiled, her eyes watered but she wiped them away with the back of her sleeve, and grabbed four bars. Once all the bags had been folded neatly and stashed away in a drawer, the boxes were broken down, and placed in the recycling bin; that's when they left again. He drove to the hospital, they parked, and headed towards the room that they had become familiar with. He knocked on the door, "Misses Yamamoto?" She gave the go ahead to come in, he opened it, and allowed Kiana to enter first.

"Kiana!"

"Hi Mom."

"What are you two doing here? Don't you have work?"

"Day off." Blue eyes looked at her father, "Don't _you_ have work?"

"It's fine, I want to be here with my wife." She smiled and nodded, "So what _are_ you two doing here?"

The door was shut by Sousuke and he stated, "Bringing a present."

Aoi excitedly stated, "I'm getting grandchildren!" Both of them stopped in their tracks, Kiana's face flushed bright red while Sousuke averted his eyes, and Aoi snickered, "I'm teasing." Kiana coughed, approached her mother, and whipped out the four bars that were hidden in her bag. "Oh my gosh!" She hugged her daughter, "Thank you so much my little girl!"

"Thank Sousuke. It was his idea."

When those teal eyes locked with those gold ones, they softened towards him, "Thank you Sousuke." He nodded, she immediately opened one up while stuffing the others under her pillow, and she took a large bite that rendered half the bar gone. He stared at her, she grinned while chewing it up, and swallowing it, "Ah. That hit the spot. I assume she told you why she likes them?" He nodded, "Good. I can also assume that she took you to the market today as well." He nodded again, "Kiana, you're too sweet with him."

She shrugged, "You taught me to love the man that took my heart and in order to gain that love in return then I must reach him through his stomach." Aoi bellowed her laughter while Sousuke gave that imperceptible smirk, Akira got up, motioned for Kiana to have a seat, and she did so while he waved his detective to another corner of the room.

He whispered, "I got your text. Don't worry, I've already messaged my friends at Interpol including my old superior, they'll be sending a team this way in a day or two to help out with the case." Sousuke nodded and Akira recognized the darkness that lurked in his eyes, the rage that wanted to sear forward so the Chief of Police patted his shoulder. Sousuke stared at the hand then looked at Akira once more while he kept that low tone, "You're a snake's worst nightmare, you know that?"

"No, how so?"

He smirked, "Because you're as diligent as she is but with a helluva lot more force." Sousuke stared at the father of his beloved Selkie and rewarded the man with a small smirk.

Akira stared at him, "I told you that I would be the first to do double time and if it means working those hours early on then so be it. I won't have that woman come near Kiana ever again, not after what she did to her in the past and _certainly_ not after what she did to your wife." He patted him again before removing his hand from his shoulder, "I meant it."

"I know you did."

"I also meant that I'd give Hasegawa traffic duty for the next year if he came near Kiana again."

"I know and _that's_ what makes you dangerous. You don't bluff Yamazaki."

"I never have. I keep my threats."

"I know." The two males stood next to one another as they watched the mother and daughter converse about Snickers bars and the market, and food. "When we find an apartment then you two are invited for dinner."

"We'll help you move," replied Sousuke. The others looked at him, "I'll call a few friends to help out."

"Thank you, I appreciate it."

"Not a problem sir." There was a bit more silence until he said, "Once you're settled in your new home, you two are invited over as well." Kiana looked at Sousuke, her blue eyes bright with gratitude and love, Akira looked between the two, and scratched the back of his head. Sousuke averted his eyes, "Also," there was some silence, "Kiana's moved in with me...permanently." He heard a chair scraping then a body slammed into his but not with enough force to knock him over. He looked down to see that mess of curls in a long braid, she nuzzled his chest, and he wrapped his arms around her protectively. "It would get lonely without you."

She looked up at him, smiled, and it made her eyes twinkle, "Thank you Sousuke." He nodded, she squeezed him tightly as he returned it, and she relinquished her hold on him.

"So has he upset your balance yet?" Kiana chuckled as her mother was curious if Sousuke has been hit yet and they were surprised when she shook her head.

"No, he's very understanding."

"Have been ever since you told me that you got in trouble for hitting your classmates with a satchel." Everyone looked at him, he wore a small smile on his face, and she blushed at the memory, "It's one of my favorite memories because it as the first time that you spoke to me." Her face continued to darken but her eyes twinkled, "Unfortunately I couldn't get you to talk much after that." She smiled warmly at him, "So you're going to need to make up for lost time."

"I'm sure she will," replied Akira. Sousuke looked at him, "When you find a subject that she likes, don't expect her to _stop_ talking about it." Some silence, "You'll just have to find out what that is."

"Why?"

"Her favorite subject to talk about in school was you," chimed in Aoi. Kiana's face turned dark red, he stared at her as she turned away from him, "So good luck."

He smirked, "I already know one subject that she likes to talk about." Kiana's face darkened which made Aoi bellow laughter while Akira looked around confused, the adopted daughter got up, hugged her mother, hugged her father, and grabbed Sousuke's hand. "It was nice to see you Misses Yamamoto, Chief. Get well soon and give me a call when you're ready to move."

"We will and it was so nice of you to come by," replied Aoi and the couple nodded. She was grinning, "Take care of him!" As the door closed behind them, she looked at Akira, and he smacked himself in the forehead, "You're so slow sometimes!" This made them laugh as he took a seat near his wife once more, "I still want grandchildren. That's the ultimate present." He nodded in agreement, "They'll be so cute with his green eyes and her curly orange hair! Oh oh! Maybe they'll have curly brown hair and blue eyes!"

"Aoi, you're getting excited."

"I know. You know, when I first met her, she asked me something funny."

"Oh?"

"She asked me if you liked me because my name began with 'A' as well."

Akira chuckled, "She's too smart."

"That she is and she's _our_ little smart Selkie who's finally found her mate." He nodded, "They're so cute together! I love it!"

"I do too. I trust him."

"Good because that wench is going to get it once I'm out of here."

"I know she is. Everyone knows about me being in Interpol but no one knows how I met you my lovely wife."

Aoi smirked dangerously, "Maybe it's time your precinct know who I am."

"I think so besides, they're sending me my old team, and they even asked me if you'd like to come on."

"You know what I'll say."

"I know." They kissed one another while Aoi grinned at her husband, "Let's give her hell for our little girl."

"Yes, she's going to learn that she chose the wrong family to target."


End file.
